


A University Affair

by Two_of_Clubs



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Professors, Big Gay Love Story, Dating, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, First Kiss, First Time, Human Aziraphale (Good Omens), Human Crowley (Good Omens), Humor, M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-08-13 02:37:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 58,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20166760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Two_of_Clubs/pseuds/Two_of_Clubs
Summary: Professor Ezra Fell is just beginning his new job at the University of London. Little does he know just how exciting his new life in London is going to be. From his first lecture to his first full academic year, Ezra Fell encounters it all! That means odd coworkers, nosy students, and let's not forget difficult family members! Not to mention, a particular professor who works down the hall that his new boss is just a little too happy to introduce him to...





	1. A New Professor

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here's my attempt at a University AU!
> 
> I tried to draw references from both the book and television show and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. 
> 
> I'll admit it this work gets its rating from some of the later chapters I have planned, but I rated it M to be safe, as there is occasional language...
> 
> Enjoy!

“Alright then, love. This’ll be your new classroom. Yes,  _ that  _ one...That’s a dear,” the woman said, as the newest faculty member pushed open the door to the classroom in question.

He flicked the lights on and peered inside. The one light in the very back left-hand corner took an extra second or so to blink on, but apart from that it was a very typical classroom. Two rows of tables, each with two chairs placed at them, took up the majority of the room. There was a modest instructor’s desk, front and center, with a pair of whiteboards that covered most of the front wall and a pull-down projector screen. There was a small collection of bookshelves and cabinets that took up the back right corner of the room, but they were empty for the time being.

Satisfied with what he saw, the new professor turned back towards the woman and beamed at her. She smiled at him, but it was a rather  _ knowing _ smile. That is to say, it was the smile of someone who knew something that he did not. Actually, she knew quite a few things that he did not, but all in good time, of course.

“And the breakroom is just down the hallway, but I suspect you can find that on your own.”

“Yes, thank you. You’ve been so kind, showing me around, Professor…”

The woman pushed a lock of curly, nut-brown hair behind her ear with the calculated nature of someone who has been anticipating such a question for some time, but has opted to play it casual. She gave a soft chuckle, a hand carefully moving to her chest as if in apology.

“Goodness me, where exactly have my manners gotten off to this morning?” she laughed.

The other professor laughed politely himself, unsure what else to do.

“Professor Nutter,” she continued. “I’m the department chair for the sciences, and also a fellow professor of natural science. But please, just call me Agnes.”

“Oh! Oh, pleased to make your acquaintance,” he replied. “Ezra Fell. Er. Professor Ezra Fell. Of natural science.”

“Yes, dear. I know who you are.”

Professor Nutter quickly turned on her heel.

“Now, if you’d just follow me, there’s someone I’d like for you to meet.”

“Are they a professor of natural science as well?”

She laughed to herself once more.

“Not exactly. Although, he does fancy himself as quite the botanist. He—well...perhaps you’d better just meet him for yourself.”

With that, Professor Nutter led him a bit further down the hallway, back the way they came, then down the corridor to their left. This appeared to be where all of the professors had their offices. They stopped outside one that had all its lights off, and as far as Professor Fell could tell, it was entirely empty.

“This one will be yours,” Agnes said, as if reading his thoughts. “I’ll have maintenance come by and unlock it, get you a key, and you can work on getting moved in by this afternoon.”

“Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me, everything you’re doing to make me feel welcome.”

_ Well, we’re not done with that bit just yet _ , Agnes thought to herself. However, she merely smiled at him again and took a few more steps down the corridor, to the office immediately adjacent to the one that was going to be Professor Fell’s. The lights were on and the window ledge to the right of the office door was lined with a variety of small houseplants. Professor Nutter knocked politely on the door. A moment later, there was a reply that could have either been a muffled “yes?” or a non-committal grunt.

She turned the handle and gently pushed open the door, giving Mister Fell his first glance of this professor Agnes insisted he meet. The man was stretched out behind his desk, reclining all the way back in his chair, his feet propped up on the corner of his desk. There were two things that immediately caught Professor Fell’s attention—three if you included the fact that this man was wearing sunglasses  _ indoors _ . 

The first thing he noticed was the pair of snakeskin boots the man was wearing, which didn’t seem to go with the rest of his trendy black outfit, comprised of black skinny jeans, an old Queen t-shirt and a black blazer. But then, Professor Fell had never bothered to stay up to date on the latest fashion trends, so perhaps animal skin hadn’t gone out of style just yet. The next thing he noticed was the man’s wavy mop of flaming, red hair. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought the man dyed it, but as he couldn’t find any signs of fade or re-dyeing, it appeared to be completely natural.

And the way the individual strands caught even the canned light in the small office looked too real to have possibly come out of a bottle. Professor Fell smiled warmly at the man, who quirked an eyebrow at him from over the top of his dark sunglasses in response. Professor Nutter glanced at each of them and smiled to herself, another  _ knowing  _ smile.

“This gentleman is Professor—”

“Crowley. Anthony J. Crowley,” the man behind the desk cut in.

He nimbly removed his feet from the desk and leaned forward, extending his hand. Professor Fell glanced at his hand for a moment, and Crowley wiggled his fingers invitingly. 

“Right, sorry,” he muttered, taking Crowley’s hand in his own and giving it a firm—well, firm as he could manage—shake.

Professor Crowley gave him a bit of a sly smile, then released his hand and leaned back in his chair once more.

“Got a name?”

“Oh, uh, yes!” the new professor stammered. “Professor Fell. Ezra Fell. Just, er, Ezra. If you’d like.”

Crowley’s expression changed to one of amusement. He watched as the newcomer played with the small gold ring on his pinky. 

“ _ Ezra _ ? That’s a rather old-fashioned name. Can’t say I’ve heard it very often, not outside of books anyway.”

For some reason, Ezra Fell made a mental note of the way Mister Anthony J. Crowley had pronounced his name only a few moments before. It was probably spelled the traditional way, with an ‘h’ of course. However, Crowley had pronounced it as though the ‘h’ was silent.  _ Ant-ony. _ No ‘th’ sound. Just a ‘t.’ Had Professor Fell been better at choosing his words and not quite so nervous about this being his first day at the University of London, he might have made some remark about Crowley’s name being somewhat old-fashioned as well, if not in a charming way.

However, Ezra Fell was not particularly eloquent, at least not at the moment, so instead, he simply said: 

“You read?”

Crowley raised both of his eyebrows at him, his amusement growing. He folded his arms comfortably over his chest.

“Why,  _ yessss _ ,” he replied, drawing out the words with mock enthusiasm. 

Professor Fell stared down at his shoes, thinking his first attempt at getting to know one of his new fellow faculty members had been a complete bust. Agnes Nutter, on the other hand, could not have been more pleased. She could have cut the awkward tension in the room with a butter knife—if she’d had one anyway. Now there was only one thing left to do.

“Professor Crowley, if you don’t mind, the reason we came to pay you a visit was to ask you a favor. Mister Fell is our newest natural sciences professor and he needs to get settled into his new classroom before his first class in a couple of hours. I just finished telling him you’d be more than willing to help him move his textbooks and other things into the empty one down the hall. Would you be a dear?”

Two pairs of eyes blinked. One right out in the open, the other, hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. The owners of these two sets of eyes both turned to face Agnes Nutter, each with confused looks on their faces.

“ _ What _ ?” they asked in perfect unison.

“Oh, jolly good.” Professor Nutter replied, ignoring Professors Crowley and Fell with a smile.

She turned on her heel and strode out of the office, a bounce in her step. She took off down the corridor, then back to the main hall, smiling to herself the whole way.  _ This was going to be a good semester. She could just tell. _


	2. Four-Letter Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We pick up shortly where we left off, where Ezra is now finished moving into his new classroom.

Not sure what else to do, Crowley found himself helping the new professor move into his new classroom. Besides, he didn’t have a class until around 11:00 am either, so there wasn’t much else to keep him occupied. The new professor was rather chatty, drilling him with questions and throwing in comments whenever it seemed appropriate. What professor Fell had managed to learn about his new—if not grudging—colleague was this:

Professor Crowley was a maths professor. In fact, he was the only maths professor in the building. A  _ small disagreement _ with a Dr. Hastur had gotten him removed from his former rooms in the math department, and Professor Nutter had been kind enough to take him in. His classes weren’t overly full, but they made from semester to semester, so he supposed that was enough for him.

As it turned out, Anthony J. Crowley wasn’t actually as fond of reading as Ezra Fell had been led to believe—if not by his own gullibility. He did, however, have quite a passion for the plants in his office, proudly remarking that he talked to them almost daily to help them grow. As a natural scientist, Professor Fell wanted to inform Crowley that speaking to the plants didn’t actually do anything to improve their growth or vitality, but seeing the way the man lit up when he talked about his plants was just too much, so Ezra Fell stayed quiet.

“That would be the last of them,” he announced, setting down his own stack of books.

“I should hope so,” Crowley replied, leaning against one of the tables.

“Thank you so very much for helping me. I’m not sure how to repay your kindness. Perhaps I could—”

“Wasn’t kindness,” he spat. 

“What?” Professor Fell blinked.

“I wasn’t being  _ kind _ , I was just…” he gestured vaguely with one of his hands, “doing what Professor Nutter asked. That’s all.”

“Oh. Well—erm. It was very nice of you anyway.”

Crowley tilted his head down at the other professor so that he could peer at him from over the top of his sunglasses, his gaze hard. Ezra Fell should have been put off by this sudden, odd behavior from his new acquaintance, but he was too busy staring back at the man’s eyes. They were a startling shade of amber, a rich honey color that practically glowed from behind his sunglasses. Fell wondered why the man would cover up such beautiful eyes, then immediately scolded himself for thinking such a thing.

“You listen to me,” Crowley growled, “I am  _ not _ nice. Nice is a four-letter word that I will  _ not  _ be labeled by. Do you understand?”

Professor Fell furrowed his brows at him.

“Not really, no.”

Anthony J. Crowley let out another exasperated growl and walked out of the room, heading back towards his office. Ezra Fell watched him go, not knowing what else to do. This Professor Crowley was a very interesting man indeed. He briefly wondered why something so trivial would be so important to the other man, but soon turned his attention to more pressing matters. His first class, for a start.

He quickly put the events of the morning behind him and began preparing for his first lecture of the semester, and his first one at a university. He had been in and out of junior colleges for the better part of the last decade, and had finally landed a position at his dream college. He was finally content, and no amount of nerves or strange colleagues were going to muck that up. He prepared the room in anticipation of meeting his first students at the University of London.

He placed the appropriate books at the desks and turned on the old computer at his desk, getting ready to pull up the powerpoint slides for his first lecture. In almost no time, he was ready to go and students had begun to shuffle in. Professor Fell met a group of enthusiastic students—three boys and a girl by the names of Adam, Brian, Wensleydale, and Pepper respectively—who eagerly took the two tables in front. More students filed in, a redheaded woman called Carmine, a horribly slender boy who went by the name of Raven, a sickly looking blonde whom the two previously mentioned students referred to as “Chalky,” along with one gentleman in a motorcycle jacket whose name he hadn’t quite been able to understand.

There were your normal students as well, the ones who didn’t really care for small talk and just wanted to get in and out of the lecture as soon as humanly possible. But Ezra Fell was just as excited to see each and every one of them, even if they didn’t shake his hand or smile back. Soon, the room was full and it was time for Professor Fell to give his first lecture. He proudly took his place at the front of the classroom and beamed.  _ This was going to be a good day. _

Meanwhile, Professor Crowley was just starting to make his way over to his assigned classroom for his first class of the day. He hadn’t realized it earlier that morning, but he would have to pass by Professor Fell’s classroom to get to his own, a prospect that made him inexplicably nervous. He tried not to think about it, letting his inner monologue of thoughts and ideas drown out everything else. 

There were a lot of four-letter words coming to mind. The first ones were more along the lines of  _ math,  _ and  _ late,  _ followed by the inevitable  _ fuck _ . As he actually passed by the new professor’s classroom, however, these words changed into  _ nice _ and  _ kind _ . He heard a small wave of laughter right as he passed by the door, so he stopped, intrigued. The class was laughing at some corny science joke Professor Fell had told, and Crowley found himself lingering by the window, just out of sight, to see if he would tell another one.

He did, and as cheesy as it was, Crowley had to admit, it was well-timed. He continued to listen as Professor Fell went on to talk about, and yes he did use these exact words, “all the creatures of the Earth, both great and small,” and watched him from his secret vantage point. Professor Fell was not particularly tall, nor did he have an overly demanding presence. He was handsome, Crowley decided, in his own quiet, enthusiastic way, and hearing him speak made everyone present—students and wayward professors alike—want to sit down and listen to what he was saying for a while.

A quick glance at his designer watch told Crowley that he was now entering the territory of  _ dangerously late  _ for his first class of the semester. He cursed to himself—another four-letter word—and took off down the hallway towards his designated classroom. Once again, the four-letter words that tumbled around inside his head had shifted. By the time he made it to the door of his classroom, the only two four-letter words Anthony J. Crowley could think of were  _ Ezra Fell _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> I promise to have the next bit uploaded by 08-15, so stick around, you won't regret it!


	3. Repayment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley seeks out the new Professor Fell with a particular question in mind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! Updated exactly as promised. Hope you guys enjoy!

“So what kind of books do _ you _ read?” Crowley asked, pulling up a chair to the side of Ezra Fell’s desk.

He turned it backwards and straddled the seat, folding his arms on top of the backrest and leaning forward to look at the new professor intently. Professor Fell was now wearing a pair of circular reading glasses, and seemed to be busy looking over something in one of his textbooks. Crowley watched as he blinked a couple of times, then slowly turned his attention away from the book.

“I beg your pardon?” he asked politely.

“What sort of books do you like to read? You said something about books earlier.”

Fell looked at him over the top of his glasses for a moment, then smiled, gently removing them from his face and placing them off to the side.

“Mystery novels, if you must know.”

“Mystery novels? What, like murder mysteries?”

“Precisely.”

Crowley gave a bit of a groan at that.

“Those always seem so boring. Either the butler or the jealous boyfriend did it.”

Professor Fell laughed a little bit at that. He had a nice laugh, pure and joyful. Crowley immediately wanted to hear it again, then frowned at himself, because that didn’t make any sense.  _ Why would he want such a thing _ ? 

“Perhaps you just haven’t found the right book,” Ezra Fell replied after a moment.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.”

There were a few moments of silence, then, Anthony J. Crowley got up the courage to say what had been pressing on his mind for longer than he would have liked to admit.

“I do know this, though,” he continued as nonchalantly as possible. “It appears to be lunch time.”

Fell glanced down at his watch, a modest, leather-banded affair that was clearly well worn and well loved. Most of his accessories appeared to be that way, the old watch, the slightly scratched ring, the somewhat faded tweed bow tie. Crowley had to admit, Professor Fell’s style was charming, in a 1930’s sort of way. 

“That is does,” he agreed. “Good of you to remind me, or I would have sat here until my next lecture.”

“Yeah, well. I just thought that maybe since—I mean, you  _ did _ say you didn’t know how to repay my so-called kindness...I just thought—”

“Are you...Are you asking me to buy you lunch?”

“What? I wouldn’t—alright, it does sound a little ridiculous when you put it like that.”

To Crowley’s surprise, Ezra Fell just laughed. Not a mocking laugh, or an exasperated one. A genuinely amused sort of chuckle. 

“Well, I suppose I do owe you for helping me move my things in.”

“Wait, really?”

“Of course,” Fell smiled. “It’s the least I can do.”

Even though he was still wearing his sunglasses, Crowley found himself looking away, unable to meet the other man’s eyes.

“But I have to admit something,” Fell said.

“What is it?”

“I’m rather new to these parts, so I have no idea where all the good places to grab lunch are.”

Crowley drummed his fingers on the back of the chair thoughtfully. He’d been expecting the other professor to suggest eating at the university cafeteria, but going out to eat wasn’t such a bad idea. Crowley wouldn’t have to worry about anyone pestering him.

“How long until your next class?” he asked. 

“Oh, about a couple of hours,” Fell answered. 

“Hmm...You like Chinese?”

“I do.”

“Well that’s great!”

The redhead cleared his throat and mentally kicked himself. He reigned in his enthusiasm and tried again.

“What I meant was, I know a great place, has great food.”

“Very well,” Fell remarked, getting up from his chair. “Shall we?”

Crowley found himself nodding dumbly. He got to his feet and put his borrowed chair back in its proper place.

“Um, uh. You buy, I’ll drive?” he offered, glancing at the natural science professor.

“Sounds like a deal,” Ezra Fell replied, smiling at his new colleague. 

They strode out of the classroom and down the hall. They walked in semi-comfortable silence out of the building and towards the nearest car park. Fell followed after Crowley, trying to figure out which car could possibly be his. If he had to guess, he’d have expected the flashy Anthony J. Crowley to drive an equally flashy car. And he would be right. Where his prediction went wrong, however, was when he assumed the maths professor would be driving a vehicle as modern and trendy as the outfit he wore.

He had been anticipating an imported sports car of some kind, maybe even a sleek Mercedes-Benz. He had not been expecting a black, vintage Bentley. It looked slightly worn around the edges, but it was quite clearly well cared for. Ezra caught himself staring at the car.

“My goodness, is that yours?” he gasped. 

“Yup.” Crowley grinned, proudly.

“Can I?”

“Of course.”

Fell did a quick circle around the car, peering into the windows and taking stock of everything inside. The leather seats, old-fashioned seat-belts, the gear lever, the impeccably clean kick plates. 

“It’s amazing! It all looks original.”

“It is—well, for the most part. Been in the family for decades.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. My great-grandfather bought it from new in 1926. We’ve uh, made some modifications to keep up with modern traffic, but for the most part it’s all original.”

“ _ Wow _ ,” Fell sighed. 

Crowley unlocked the driver’s side door and slid inside. He reached across the front seat to unlock the passenger’s side door and motioned for Ezra to get in. The new professor did, immediately reveling in the feeling of being inside a vintage car. Crowley started up the engine, and the car roared to life, purring almost joyously at the prospect of being driven. The two men exchanged a grin and Crowley revved the engine. 

“Shall we?”


	4. A Spot of Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, the two professors decide to have lunch together...

Fell made a content noise as he popped another dumpling into his mouth. 

“I say, this is delicious and we’ve only just started.”

“They do have excellent appetizers,” Crowley agreed.

The Chinese restaurant in question was called “Lucky’s,” and was decorated with a large sign of a golden, waving cat. It looked a bit campy from the outside, a theme that was carried throughout the interior of the restaurant as well—but the food was simply wonderful. Fell nibbled at the dumplings while Crowley contented himself with a cup of wonton soup. They each opted for the lunch special: an entree served with a side of rice. Professor Fell ordered the sweet and sour pork with steamed jasmine rice, while his dining companion ordered the kung pao chicken—extra spicy—with a side of vegetable fried rice. 

They chatted lightly as they worked on their first course, about the college, about students, about how long they had been teaching, and anything that came up in between. Crowley was surprised to learn that this was Ezra Fell’s first job at a university. They were about the same age, and had been teaching for about the same amount of time, so he found it was strange that Fell hadn’t been accepted to a position at one of the other nearby universities. 

“I have to say, I’m rather excited about the whole thing. For the longest time, teaching at the University of London was just a dream of mine.”

“It worked out though.”

“Yes...I suppose it did.”

Ezra leaned across the table slightly, looking at Crowley merrily.

“Do you have any tips? Anything you’ve learned in your time at the university?”

Not for the first time that day, Crowley was completely overwhelmed by the constant optimism of Mister Ezra Fell. It produced a combination of two very bizarre feelings inside of him. The first was a desire to cling even more desperately to his usual cynicism, to spout whatever pessimistic thoughts happened to be darting across his mind in the harshest and most unfeeling way possible.

“Sure, I’ve got a tip for you,” he replied as the waiter came by the table with their main course.

“What is it?”

“Curb your enthusiasm. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that no one cares. All the higher-ups play a good game of pretending that they care, but they don’t. Neither do the students. They’re there for the best grade they can earn while doing the least amount of work possible. Eventually you’ll figure out that no one there actually gives a damn about you and all your hard work.”

Crowley glanced up from his plate to see that Fell’s jaw had actually dropped. He stared across the table, his lips quivering slightly and his eyes the size of saucers. The maths professor mentally cursed at himself.  _ Why the hell had he said that? It was the man’s first day for heaven’s sake! _ Likely, it was an attempt to cover up the second thing that Ezra Fell’s hopeful enthusiasm provoked within him: adoration. He found it endearing that someone could be so refreshingly innocent. 

This wasn’t to say he thought Fell was naive. A successful man of his age couldn’t be when it came down to it. But he admired the way Fell seemed to approach everything with delighted excitement, as though the child within him had never truly grown up. Crowley wished he could be a little bit more like that, and it made him jealous in a way he wasn’t entirely sure how to describe.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s...It’s alright,” Fell replied after a moment. “You were just saying what you thought was true.”

They made uneasy eye contact for a brief moment, Crowley over the top of his sunglasses and Fell after slowly glancing up from the table. They ate in silence for a while, until finally lapsing back into casual conversation. The food was very good, they both agreed, and Ezra thanked Crowley for driving him to the restaurant. 

“Not a problem.”

“Perhaps we’ll have to eat here again, schedule permitting,” Fell said before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

He looked up at Crowley cautiously, gauging the man’s reaction. Crowley smiled in spite of himself and nodded his head.

“Of course. You haven’t even had the best thing on the menu.”

“I haven’t?”

“Nope.”

“And what would that be?”

Crowley shrugged, feigning indifference to Ezra’s interest.

“Maybe I’ll tell you the next time we go.”

Ezra smiled, his bright blue eyes lighting up with laughter. 

“Very well then. Keep your secrets for now.”

They both chuckled at that a little bit and returned to their lunch. Crowley discovered that Fell had come to London by himself, bringing no family or... _ significant others _ —although why Crowley would care about such a thing was beyond him. The natural science professor didn’t have any pets and wouldn’t be getting any either, as he hadn’t been able to find a landlord in all of London that would accept them.

Ezra learned that Mister Anthony J. Crowley had a father that lived not too far outside of London, but that they didn’t really speak to each other very much, at least not in any way that seemed to make much of a difference to Crowley. He too lacked a significant other, but as he put it, London was a big city, so there was always hope. He did not have any pets and didn’t want them, but he did have a nice collection of houseplants, the best in all of London, he called them.

When it was time to return back to work, Fell paid the bill as promised and Crowley drove them back to the university. They talked amiably about this and that all the way in from the car park, an undeniable magnetism between the two of them. Crowley even walked with Professor Fell all the way back to his classroom, without realizing that he had passed the one he was meant to go to. They gave each other a quick goodbye, and Crowley ducked out of the classroom, heading towards his own with an unmistakable bounce in his step.


	5. Enemies, Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In coming days, Ezra Fell and Anthony J. Crowley become good friends. Unfortunately for Crowley however, not all of his coworkers seem to be as fond of him as Ezra is...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was honestly one of my chapters to write, just because of the concept. I won't spoil anything, I'll just let you read!

Over the next several days, Crowley began to get used to Ezra Fell’s company. They waved at each other when they passed by each other’s offices and classrooms, they chatted over tea and sandwiches in the break room at the end of the hall, and joked with each other on their way out to the car park in the back. In only a matter of a few weeks, Crowley had begun to think of Ezra as a friend, an actual, good friend. A friend whose company he not only enjoyed, but had begun to seek out.

Crowley found himself trying to casually bump into the other professor while they were at work. Whether it was passing by him before or after a meeting, or finding an excuse to send an email about some software upgrade the university did throughout the building, he searched for, and even found himself  _ wishing _ for more reasons to get Ezra Fell’s attention, if only for a moment. Unfortunately for Crowley—or fortunately, depending on how you view the situation—there was a wise old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Anthony J. Crowley was a maths professor. He could solve complex problems in his head while going off on a tangent about God knows what. He could punch out answers faster than a calculator and often tried to solve real-life scenarios with the logic of a computer program. Unfortunately for Anthony J. Crowley, real-life scenarios tended to be anything but logical, causing him more frustration than he knew how to handle. And when Crowley’s circuits overloaded, he often looked for solutions in the most familiar of places, even if they didn’t produce a desirable end result.

That was exactly what had landed him in a small office in the science building, instead of his former, slightly-less-small office in the math department. He had been battling with the head of the math department, Dr. Hastur, and his right hand man, Professor Ligur about funding the math department’s research projects. He had pushed and pushed for a collaborative unit between the math and engineering students, and had, for reasons unbeknownst to him, been met with opposition.

After years of crafting carefully-worded reports and written suggestions, sitting in on department meetings, and doing his best to shmooze some of the university’s richer donors (lots of that, actually), Crowley had been told—in very unkind words—to sod off. After years of not being taken seriously, Crowley snapped and reverted to the sort of behavior most familiar to him. Unfortunately, that behavior included blaring Queen’s best hits outside of Dr. Hastur’s window at 3:00 in the morning, while egging the side of his house, heavily under the influence of alcohol. 

The next day Crowley had been told to pack up his things and thank his lucky stars that he was only being moved to a new building and not to a holding cell by a group of downtown Met officers. And so Crowley went, keeping the volley of very nasty words concerning Dr. Hastur that his mouth nearly threatened to say, to himself. He had been in the science building for nearly 3 years now. 

Just as he had turned to familiar and comforting things in his time of need 3 years ago—albeit not smart things—Crowley would end up receiving the help of something—or rather,  _ someone _ —familiar and comforting in his time of need this particular afternoon. As mentioned previously, Anthony J. Crowley was a maths professor, he was  _ not _ a humans professor. He did not know how to solve particularly difficult humans, humans like Dr. Hastur, who had just so happened to arrive outside his office door while Crowley was in the middle of checking his email. 

“Good afternoon Crowley,” the grey-haired man said, announcing his presence. 

Crowley had left his door open like usual, but hadn’t bothered to look up from his computer until he realized just who was standing in his doorway.  _ Hastur. It had to be Hastur _ . There were a lot of things the maths professor didn’t like about him, apart from his rather ugly mug and snide tone of voice. But what Crowley hated most was how the other man addressed him.  _ Crowley _ . Not  _ Professor Crowley _ , not even  _ Mister Crowley _ . Just  _ Crowley _ , as if he didn’t deserve the dignity of a title along with his name, nor the intimacy of being called by his first name. Not to mention, Hastur said it like it gave him a particularly nasty taste in his mouth. 

“Good afternoon Dr. Hastur,” the redhead replied, his voice polite, yet clipped. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve just processed your request for the funding of an additional mathematics course to be offered in the science department,” Hastur said, stepping inside the office. “Would you care to explain?”

“Well, I just thought that—”

The door slammed shut. Crowley jumped a little bit in his chair.  _ He really hated loud noises _ .

“You thought  _ nothing _ , Crowley,” Hastur hissed at him. “You think you can fool me?  _ Me,  _ of all people? I know exactly what you’re doing.”

“Sir, if I could explain.”

“I wish you would. Go ahead, tell me your side of things Crowley. Why do you need to teach another course?”

Crowley folded his hands on top of his desk and let out a heavy sigh.

“Dr. Hastur, I think students here in the science department could really benefit from having an applied mathematics course specifically for the sciences. I know it’s not a degree requirement for everyone, but it would do a lot of good.”

Hastur made an unconvinced grunt.

“Please,” Crowley continued. “I have a... _ unique _ insight being the only maths professor in the science department. I could work with the other professors in the building and come up with some really solid coursework. It would all be so helpful to the science majors. The biology students, the chemistry students—students studying physics, it would help them all.”

“Enough!” Hastur growled, slamming his palms down on Crowley’s desk.

He leaned over, staring at the redhead.

“This is just a ploy to get more money. More credit hours you teach means more cash in your pocket.”

“It’s not like that,” Crowley said quietly.

“You’re going to argue with me?” Hastur asked threateningly.

Crowley should have said nothing. He should have kept his mouth shut and his head down. Unfortunately, Crowley is very bad at doing both of those things.

“Yes. I am,” he snapped.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Well I do, especially when you’re wrong...and you  _ are _ .”

Hastur sighed, then stood back up to his full height. He began to laugh.

“Crowley, Crowley, Crowley. You’re such an  _ idiot _ ! I’ve warned you before to leave well enough alone, but you can’t listen can you?”

Crowley glanced away.

“I mean, you’re properly  _ stupid _ ! Consider this your last warning Crowley.  _ Ever _ . You mess up one more time—”

Hastur snapped his fingers and pointed towards the door.

“One more time and out you go! And I guarantee you Crowley, Professor Nutter won’t be there to save you.”

“Get out of my office,” Crowley growled between gritted teeth.

Hastur smiled to himself.  _ He had won _ . 

“I better not see anything from you again, you hear me? I mean it Crowley, you do this again, and you’re done!”

With that, Hastur left Crowley’s office, and the redhead sat at his desk. He let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hands over his face. He was so angry. He was angry enough to run out the door after Hastur and lob a book at him. He didn’t. He couldn’t. He didn’t want to go to his next class, he just wanted to be alone. But before he could even think of cancelling, there was a soft knock on his door. Crowley looked up to find Ezra standing there, his eyes wide and full of concern.

“Ezra…”

“Is everything alright?” the blonde asked. “I mean, you’re not hurt are you? What with the door and all—I couldn’t help but overhear—we...we share a wall, you know.”

“Come in,” Crowley said softly.

Ezra gently closed the door behind him and sat across from the maths professor.

“What’s the matter?” Ezra asked after a moment.

“ ‘m fine.”

“If you don’t mind my saying so...You don’t exactly look _ fine _ , Anthony.”

He glanced at Ezra’s face. It was all warmth and caring and kindness. It was so easy to talk to him. There was something about the way he looked at you that just gently coaxed the truth out of you. Crowley took off his sunglasses and placed them on the desk.

“Alright,” he conceded, “I’m a little shaken up...I really hoped that this time would be different.

Ezra leaned forward and nodded.

“I don’t know how much you heard.”

The blonde shrugged.

“Just...well, all of it,” he admitted.

Crowley sighed and rested his head in his hands.

“I wasn’t being selfish,” Crowley murmured. “I just wanted it for the students.”

“I believe you Anthony,” Ezra replied. “I know you care about them. They may not always think so, but I can see that you do.”

Crowley frowned at his desk.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“Oh, don’t thank me yet.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well we should do something,” Ezra replied, matter of factly. “Something to make you feel better.”

“I-I don’t know about that—”

“Come on, we’ll have a night out.”

“A night out?” 

Crowley blinked at him.

“You know, visit one of the local malls, go out to dinner, or even have a nice walk in the park.”

“Don’t really go to the park much.”

“Well it doesn’t  _ have  _ to be the park. I’m just saying we should do something to cheer you up. Something you like.”

“Something I like…” Crowley mused. “I guess I do like old movies.”

“There you go, we could go see a movie. Are there any theatres playing old movies?”

“You know, now that I think about it, one of the theatres downtown is having an old film festival this week. They’re playing one of my favorites. I was thinking of going, but—”

“Which film is that?” Ezra asked.

“It’s an American film,  _ Some Like it Hot _ . It’s got Marilyn Monroe in it...Ever seen it?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Did you...Did you want to see it with me?”

“That  _ is _ the point of doing something together,” Ezra pointed out.

“Okay,” Crowley laughed nervously. “A movie it is.”

“Wonderful!”

Crowley glanced down at his phone for a moment. 

“I know you’re old-fashioned and all,” he teased, “but you do have a cell phone, yes?”

“Of course I do, silly.”

“Why don’t you give me your number, and I’ll text you the information after work?”

“Sure!”

Ezra reached for a scrap piece of paper from Crowley’s desk and quickly jotted down his mobile number and name in neat handwriting. He slid the paper across the desk and smiled. 

“There you are.”

He glanced at his watch, and then towards the door of Crowley’s office.

“I have one last class this afternoon, but I’ll see you tonight?”

“You can count on it,” Crowley replied.

Professor Fell nodded his head politely before stepping out of Crowley’s office, letting the door close gently behind him. Crowley leaned back in his chair once more, letting out a sigh of relief.  _ Perhaps the day wasn’t going to be a complete bust, he would get to spend time with Ezra. And outside of work! _ He stared at the numbers on the piece of paper and grinned.  _ They were going to see a movie _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> I am going to have the next bit uploaded by 08-22, so be sure to stick around, the story's only just getting started...


	6. Some Like it Hot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Ezra agree to meet at the movie theatre. How their evening will progress still remains to be seen...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, Some Like it Hot is one of my favorite older movies. If you have the time and a way to see the film, I strongly recommend you do. It's hilarious!

Crowley had texted him the movie information as promised, and they agreed to meet up outside the movie theatre a little before 7:00 so that they had time to get their tickets and popcorn before the movie began at 7:30. In the end, Ezra managed to find a parking space in the car park behind the movie theater, right next to Crowley’s Bentley. Ezra drove a worn-looking, beige-colored Nissan. It was a practical car, and it got him from point A to point B without too many problems. It also had a sunroof.

They met out front as planned and Crowley surprised Fell by having already purchased the movie tickets for both of them. In turn, Ezra bought their popcorn and sodas. Crowley pulled the ticket stubs out of his pocket to show the two gentlemen standing outside their designated theatre. He quickly flashed them for the men to see, caught a glimpse of one of the tickets, and frowned.

“What is it?” Ezra asked.

“Nothing,” Crowley replied. “Nothing important anyway.”

They found a couple of good seats towards the back of the theatre, and got themselves situated, placing their sodas in their cup holders and balancing the popcorn between them. The movie wasn’t going to start for another few minutes, so Ezra took the opportunity to ask the redhead what had been bothering him.

“You know, I don’t mind talking if there’s something on your mind.”

“There’s nothing on my mind, I just…”

Crowley shrugged, then removed his sunglasses, folding the arms closed and sliding them in the breast pocket of his jacket. Ezra turned slightly to look at the other man’s eyes.  _ They were such an unusual color after all.  _

“What’s wrong?”

Crowley smirked a little and leaned over conspiratorially. 

“The woman at the ticket booth gave me her number.”

“Really?”

“Mmm-hmm. Printed it right on the back of my tickets,” he said, patting his pocket where the tickets currently rested. 

“Well that was brave of her,” Ezra remarked. “Did she seem nice?”

“Eh,” Crowley made a face. “Not really my type.”

Ezra’s brow creased at that.

“What do you mean?”

Crowley opened his mouth to respond, but the lights inside the theatre suddenly dimmed and the screen grew brighter. The movie was about to begin. They each silently agreed to continue their conversation later and contented themselves with their popcorn and sodas. Crowley watched the screen, but every now and then, his eyes darted to the side to sneak a glance at Ezra. The blonde seemed to be enjoying the film. His eyes watched with avid interest, he gasped quietly whenever the film’s villains appeared, and he laughed heartily along with the rest of the audience at the jokes.

Crowley was glad that Ezra liked the film, and eventually settled into watching it himself. The only thing that unsettled Crowley was the popcorn situation. They had each gotten their own drink, but had decided to split a large popcorn. The portion wasn’t a problem, there was ample popcorn for them to nibble on. The issue became that every time Crowley wasn’t paying attention when he reached for a piece, his hand would brush against Ezra’s. The most annoying thing, however, was that Ezra did not pull away. Instead, he lazily grabbed his piece of popcorn and acted as though it had never happened.

Perhaps that was nothing to be concerned about,  _ but maybe it was _ ! Crowley didn’t know. What sort of boundaries did one have with their friends?  _ Was it acceptable to touch hands when reaching for popcorn? _ They were already slightly leaned up against each other due to the nature of the seats. Eventually, Crowley forced himself to drop the issue and turned his attention back to the screen for the rest of the film. When it was over, he and Ezra both yawned and stretched, taking their time in getting to their feet. 

“So, what did you think?” Crowley asked.

“It was an excellent film! It had action, comedy, romance, just about everything you could ask for.”

Crowley chuckled a little.

“I’m glad you liked it.” 

They made their way out of the theatre, and began heading for the car park where they had left their vehicles. On their way out, a young woman with long, chestnut-brown hair smiled and waved shyly at Crowley. He gave her a polite nod and continued on his way.

“Do you know her?” Ezra asked, once they were outside of the theatre.

“No...That was her though, the girl who gave me her number.”

“Oh! So I take it you aren’t going to give her a call?”

“Nah,” Crowley shook his head. “Like I said earlier, she’s not my type.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” 

“It means she’s not the kind of person I’m interested in.”

Ezra furrowed his brows.

“What, because she’s not some bleach-blonde with enormous breasts like that movie star we just watched? Marilyn Monroe?”

“That’s not it at all,” Crowley replied, suppressing a laugh at Ezra’s description.

“Then what is it?”

They stopped at their cars. Crowley sighed and leaned against his Bentley, Ezra walked across from him, leaning on the passenger’s side door of his own vehicle. He folded his arms over his chest to keep out some of the cold, night air and looked up at Crowley expectantly.

“It’s because she’s a  _ she.  _ A  _ girl _ . That’s why she’s not my type,” the redhead admitted.

Realization spread across Ezra’s face. 

“Oh...Oh you mean you’re—”

“ _ Yes _ .”

And this was the part, based on Crowley’s life experience thus far, when things began to get  _ really  _ awkward. He looked away and waited for Ezra to ask him more questions, to say how he had absolutely no idea, or worse: to say that he didn’t want to hang around Crowley anymore. He’d experienced all of those things, and it wouldn’t shock him to experience it again, even if Ezra had seemed like a nice man. He wasn’t, however, expecting what came next.

“Well then. I guess that means you won’t find me so strange.”

Crowley blinked at him.

“What?”

“We’re more alike than we thought, it seems.”

“Wait so you’re—”

“Yes, I am,” Ezra replied, shuffling his feet on the ground self-consciously. “I came out when I was in college.”

If Crowley was honest, it made sense. He didn’t know why he ever bothered thinking Ezra was even remotely straight. After all, the man did have a habit of calling people “dear,” and “love,” even if he didn’t know them very well. He dressed like a professor from the 1930’s, and not because he was old enough to have been around during the 1930’s. He was soft spoken and gentle in his mannerisms. Crowley couldn’t believe it didn’t occur to him within the first five minutes of meeting Ezra Fell that the man was quite obviously gay.

“So did I,” Crowley said quietly. 

They stared at each other for a moment, coming to a sort of silent understanding.

“I hope this doesn’t make things awkward between us,” Ezra said after a moment. 

“Why would it?” Crowley managed, his throat practically closing up on him. “I mean, it doesn’t change anything,” he lied.

“I guess not,” Ezra agreed, not quite meeting Crowley’s eyes. 

Crowley cleared his throat.

“I, uh. I had a good time tonight. And I’m glad you enjoyed the movie, really I am. We’ll have to do something like this again.”

“We will,” Ezra smiled. 

They each bid each other goodnight, and got into their respective cars. Crowley let Ezra back out first, then started up his Bentley. On the drive back to his flat, which wasn’t too far away, Crowley replayed the events of the night in his head, over and over again.  _ It doesn’t change anything _ . What an absolute load of hogwash that had been!  _ Who was he kidding? It changed everything _ .


	7. No Great Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In coming days, Crowley and Ezra's interactions continue as normal. They make a habit of seeing each other outside of work, much to Crowley's enjoyment. One night, Ezra surprises him by inviting him back to his flat for a drink, where he has one more surprise in store...

Much to Crowley’s surprise, their conversation after the movie didn’t hinder their usual meetings for tea before class in the morning or avid discussions held at lunch time. In fact, Ezra seemed to talk with him a bit more easily and freely than he had before, if that were possible. They texted each other outside of work and sent each other funny emails when the mood struck them. Crowley even allowed Ezra to talk him into going for a stroll around St. James’ Park to feed the ducks one evening.

He hadn’t expected to like it. Gentle strolls and tossing bread crumbs at noisy water foul weren’t exactly Crowley’s ideas of a good time, but having Ezra there made the whole experience worth it. When they were done walking around, they each bought a small ice cream and sat at one of the benches, enjoying their frozen treats and sharing their opinions on how their classes were going so far. It was hard to believe that midterms were already approaching.

When they both became aware that the sun had set some time ago, Ezra casually invited Crowley to have a drink with him in his flat in Soho. As they both had driven there separately, Crowley agreed to follow Ezra back to his flat, and parked his car on the curb behind Ezra’s Nissan. The first thing Crowley noticed about Ezra’s flat was that it appeared to be located above an old, secondhand bookstore, and that they had to use the side entrance to get up to his living space. 

The second thing Crowley noticed about his flat was that  _ oh my god, he actually invited me over to his flat for a drink! _ Crowley ascended the stairs behind Ezra, pausing as the other man unlocked the door. The first space they walked into was undoubtedly the kitchen. Ezra invited him to take his coat off and asked if a red wine was alright with him. Crowley agreed, that  _ yes, a red wine sounded nice _ and shrugged out of his coat.

_ He shouldn’t have too much to drink though _ . It was rather late, after all. Crowley looked around the small, modestly furnished flat. There were small stacks of books piled up in odd places, like the corners of tables and edges of counters. The whole flat seemed to smell like a combination of fresh herbs, clean laundry and old paper, something that Crowley found he rather liked. He had a seat at one of the chairs in Ezra’s dining room next to the kitchen and waited for the man to return.

Ezra brought an unopened bottle of red wine, some middle-of-the-road bottle from a nearby market, and a pair of wine glasses. He uncorked the bottle in the kitchen then returned to the dining room, pouring each of them a glass of wine, then setting the bottle in the center of the table. They both agreed that while the wine was nothing to write home about, it was decent, and therefore good enough for them. They eased back into conversation, and after finishing his first glass, Crowley felt calm enough begin relaxing in Ezra’s apartment. 

Halfway through their second—though decidedly less-full—glass, Ezra clapped his hands like he’d remembered something and got up from his seat at the table. He disappeared into one of the other rooms for a moment, then returned, clearly holding something behind his back.

“While I’ve remembered it,” he began proudly, “I’ve got something for you.”

“What, you got me something?”

“Indeed I did,” Ezra beamed.

He took a few steps towards Crowley so they were only a couple feet apart and cleared his throat.

“Now, I know you said you didn’t really like murder mystery novels, but I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I think I’ve found the perfect murder mystery novel for you to read, one you’ll actually like.”

“Wha—oh, Ezra, you didn’t need to do that!”

“Sure I did! When you told me you’d never read any of the Hercule Poirot novels, I couldn’t believe it! Agatha Christie really is one of the best authors the world has ever known. I promise you, you’ll love her books.”

With that, Ezra placed the book he had been holding behind his back on the table. The title was  _ Murder on the Orient Express _ . Crowley blinked at the book for a moment, then picked it up.

“Isn’t this the one about the train?”

“Well, yes,” Ezra replied. “But it’s more exciting than just a train. It’s a really good novel, I promise you Anthony. You won’t regret taking the time to read it.”

Crowley drummed his fingers against the table for a moment. Finally he turned the book over to read the synopsis on the back. 

“And I’ll just give it back when I’m done?” he asked.

“Oh, no! It’s yours.”

“You’re giving me the book? Isn’t it one of yours?”

“Well, I do own a copy, yes. But this is a copy I bought from the shop downstairs. I bought it for you, that way you could read it any time you wanted.”

Anthony J. Crowley felt his heart skip a beat. He stared up at Ezra, not sure if he had heard the other man correctly.  _ This copy was for him _ ?  _ Why would Ezra do something like that _ ? When the answer finally came to him, he couldn’t help but smile. 

“Thank you Ezra. If you’re recommending it, I’m sure it’s a great book.” 

Ezra beamed at him.

“Of course, dear.” 

He and Crowley finished the rest of their wine in a comfortable silence, occasionally looking at each other over the rims of their wine glasses. Crowley watched Ezra’s eyes when the blonde wasn’t looking directly at him. He watched the way they danced in the low light of his flat. He watched the way his pupils got just a little bit bigger when they made eye contact, and smiled.  _ It would be wrong to stay any longer, but he didn’t want to go. _ Despite his own wishes, Crowley gave a yawn and stretched his arms. 

“I think it’s about time I head home,” he said sleepily. 

“Are you alright to drive?

“Yeah, I’m not too far from here,” he replied, pulling his coat on.

“Alright. But you’ll text me when you get home so I know you’re safe?”

“Sure thing.”

They exchanged contented smiles and Ezra walked him to the door of his flat. They both reached for the door handle and their fingers brushed against each other. It was a light touch, but it sent a shock through Crowley’s entire body. He glanced at Ezra, then quickly looked away, a warm blush threatening to color his cheeks.  _ Had he felt it too?  _ One stolen glance at the other man gave Crowley his answer.  _ He had _ . 

“Goodnight Ezra,” he said quietly.

“Goodnight Anthony.”

With that, Crowley descended the stairs and climbed into his Bentley, starting up the engine. He made the quick drive home, texted Ezra as promised, and hopped into the shower. He wandered into the kitchen afterwards to make himself a quick cup of tea before bed, dressed in a black bathrobe. His hair was still damp from his shower and his body felt tired. Mentally though, Crowley was ready and raring to go.

He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to piece it together, but he finally had. Ezra had given him a gift.  _ Thought long and hard about it _ . And he had given him such a gift for the same reason he offered to see old movies with him and paid for lunch whenever Crowley drove. It was for the same reason that he stopped by Crowley’s office for tea and texted him back every opportunity he got.  _ He likes you _ ...Frankly, it was no great mystery. The only thing that remained unsolved was what Crowley was going to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed the latest developments! I will absolutely have the next couple chapters uploaded by 08-29, so please, please, please stick around. Things are just starting to get good...


	8. Dinner?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley dolls himself up a little bit one morning. He's got a very important person to see, after all. Not to mention, a very important question to ask...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, updated as promised! Hope you enjoy the latest chapters! This is where things officially start to get good...

Despite the fact that Crowley insisted he didn’t read murder mysteries, and that he certainly didn’t  _ like _ them, he found himself enjoying  _ Murder on the Orient Express _ quite a bit. He was a rather slow reader, only getting through about one chapter per day, but Ezra didn’t seem to mind. Each morning, Crowley would stop by Fell’s office to discuss the most recent developments of the book and speculate who the murderer could have been, and why.

This morning was different though, for several reasons. Firstly, Crowley wasn’t planning on talking about  _ Murder on the Orient Express _ , because instead of staying up to read the next chapter, he had stayed up thinking about how to possibly ask Ezra what he planned on asking him this morning. Second, he was carrying two cups of tea with him, one for himself with absolutely nothing added to it, and one for Ezra with a dash of cream and sugar, exactly the way he liked it. The blonde was normally the one to get both of their morning cups of tea. _Oh yes, t_ _ his morning would be different. _

Thirdly—and possibly most noticeably—Crowley had taken his usual mismatched yet trendy style and dialed it up to 11. He wore his same snakeskin boots—he’d never be caught without them it seemed—and his sunglasses. He had traded in his usual skinny jeans for a pair of pitch-black trousers that fit his body like a second skin. It was a wonder where he’d gotten them tailored, as they fit him so well. They allowed him to move fairly freely, but still left very little to the imagination as it were.

He wore a grey V-neck shirt that came down low enough to give a glimpse of his dark chest hair—well-groomed, but very much there. Over that, he wore a black waistcoat with silvery-grey buttons and a matching black jacket that fit his shoulders perfectly. The look was completed with a bluish-grey scarf draped ornately around his neck, and tied in a loose knot where the first button on his waistcoat would have been.

The side sections of his wavy, red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, exposing the features of his face and sharp lines of his jaw. It also brought attention to the small tattoo of a coiled snake on the right side of his neck, at the very top, just under his right ear. You would have never noticed it before, unless you had been paying very, very close attention as Crowley almost always wore his long hair down. Still, it was nice to have a change every now and then.

Crowley had put a lot of thought and effort into this outfit that morning,  _ and hopefully not for nothing.  _ He stopped outside Ezra’s office and took a deep breath. The door was open as usual, and he poked his head in.

“Good morning!” he announced, holding up the cups of tea in offering.

“Good morning, my dear,” Ezra smiled, looking up from his computer. 

He noticed the change in Crowley’s appearance almost immediately. His eyes lit up as they scanned over each visible inch of him from top to bottom. Normally, Crowley would make a comment about such blatant “elevator eyes,” but he found it flattering, only because said eyes belonged to Ezra and not some stranger on the street.  _ So far, so good _ . 

“Well, you certainly look fetching this morning,” Fell said, leaning back in his chair.

“Thanks,” Crowley replied with that sly smile of his, preening under Ezra’s gaze.

He gently set the cups of tea down on Ezra’s desk then closed the door behind him. It was still a bit too early for students to come seeking out their professors, but Crowley didn’t want to take any chances. The door clicked and Crowley took a seat at one of the two chairs on his side of Ezra’s desk, leaning back in it comfortably. Fell took a sip of his tea, smiled appreciatively at Crowley, then glanced at him with curiosity.

“Is that a tattoo I see?” he asked, tapping the side of his own neck, just below the ear, for emphasis.

“It is.”

He turned his head to the side and pulled the bottom layers of his hair back so Ezra could see it more clearly. The other man hummed to himself.

“Ah! A snake! How interesting.”

“Eh,” Crowley shrugged. “A permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.”

“Well it looks lovely anyway. It’s very well done.”

“Thank you,” Crowley smiled. 

Ezra took another sip of his tea and removed his reading glasses.

“So, what did you think of the most recent chapter?”

“Actually, I didn’t read any more of the book last night...I was thinking...could we talk about something else?”

“Oh! Oh, Anthony if you don’t really like the book, you don’t have to read it. I’m not going to mind either way, really.”

Crowley laughed softly. It was hard to tell if it was because of Ezra’s concern or because of his own nervousness. 

“No, no. It’s not that. I do like the book. More than I thought I would actually.”

“Oh, er—good! I’m pleased to hear it...What is it then, is everything alright?”

Crowley fidgeted slightly in his chair. He took a sip of his own tea and cleared his throat.

“Everything’s fine. There’s just something I wanted to ask you.”

“Of course, what is it?”

“Well, umm…”

Crowley rubbed the back of his neck.  _ Why was it so hot? _ It wasn’t like he was wearing a parka or anything.  _ It wasn’t yet October, but surely one shouldn’t feel so hot for Heaven’s sake! _ He tugged at his scarf, not that it was doing much in the way of actually keeping his neck warm.

“Ezra, I like spending time with you,” he said quietly, spitting the words out as quickly as he could.

Luckily, Ezra had fairly good hearing and managed to understand him.

“I enjoy spending time with you as well,” he replied.

“Really?”

“ _ Of course _ .”

“Oh, good. I—uh—What I mean is, I like being with you. I like going to lunch and watching old movies and having a drink in your flat.”

“I enjoy your company too, any time you want to come over, you’re welcome.”

“Thank you Ezra...Look, what I’m trying to say is, I like that you send me silly emails and take the time to text me. I like that you think about the kinds of books I would enjoy, and I—I...I  _ like _ …”

Crowley sighed and turned his attention to the natural science professor’s desk, unable to meet his eyes. Ezra’s gaze softened. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on the desk. He gently reached across the desk and rested a hand on one of Crowley’s forearms. Ezra waited for the redhead to glance up at him, then gave Crowley an understanding smile that extended all the way from the small lines at the corners of his mouth to his shining, bright blue eyes.

“Oh, Anthony,” he said softly. “I like you too.”

Crowley’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

“You do?” he asked, looking at Ezra over the tops of his sunglasses.

“Of course I do, dear boy. It’s not as though I go around trying to hide it.”

Crowley laughed again, but this time at his own foolishness. As if Ezra would ever shoot him down. This man had already brought him tea more times than he could count, sent him Lord knows how many emails and text messages, even gone out of his way to find a murder mystery novel Crowley would enjoy—and  _ that _ was quite a feat. He wondered why he had ever doubted Ezra would like him back.  _ It felt bloody obvious now... _

Confidence restored, Crowley cleared his throat and continued to look Ezra in the eyes over the rims of his dark glasses. He placed a hand on top of Ezra’s giving it a light squeeze. It was a simple gesture, but it made Crowley’s heart do little flips of excitement, being able to touch the other man without the fear of scaring him off.

“Then...would you be interested in having dinner with me tonight?”

“Do you mean, as a  _ date _ ?”

Crowley nodded. Ezra lifted a hand to his mouth as if in thought. Just like that, the tables were turned on the poor maths professor, and he anxiously waited for rejection. What Crowley didn’t understand was that Ezra’s hand was shielding a wide grin, struggling to break free and be shown to the entire world. Ezra couldn’t say no to him, even if Crowley had yet to realize that.

“Look, if you don’t want to, I understand. We’ve only known each other a couple months, and you’re still new to London. I don’t want to throw this at you if it’s too much.”

To Crowley’s surprise, Ezra began to giggle.

“You old silly,” he remarked, pulling the hand away from his mouth to reveal a beautiful, sincere smile.

Crowley felt his jaw go slack.

“Of course I’ll go on a date with you,” the natural sciences professor continued. “Did you have somewhere in mind?”

“Uh, yeah,” Crowley nodded, his lips quirking into a smile. “I never told you what the best dish at Lucky’s was.”

“No, you didn’t” Ezra agreed. 

The blonde stared at him expectantly and bit his lip. Perhaps for the first time that morning, Crowley took the hint.

“Pick you up around 8:00?”

“Absolutely,” Ezra beamed.

Crowley’s heart did a little flutter as they shared a smile, then lapsed into content silence, sipping their tea and just enjoying the presence of the other person. Eventually, Ezra turned his attention back to his computer and Crowley thought about some questions for one of his classes’ next tests. Before they knew it, it was time to start the day and they had to go to their respective classrooms. They parted with a warm smile and promise to definitely see each other later.


	9. This Little Tattoo of Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Fell finally have their first date. Let's see how it goes...

Crowley picked Ezra up at 8:00 pm, precisely. He was wearing the same outfit he had worn earlier that day, and much to Ezra’s surprise, it looked just as fresh, not a wrinkle to be seen. Ezra on the other hand had decided to switch up his outfit. He wore a camel colored suit with lightly-fitted trousers and a matching waistcoat. He wore brown leather shoes and his usual watch, along with a crisp, white button up, and a striped bow tie. It wasn’t  _ as  _ 1930’s what he normally wore, but it still screamed Ezra Fell, much to Crowley’s satisfaction.

“Someone looks handsome,” he said as Ezra climbed into the Bentley. 

“Oh—why, thank you dear,” he replied, a small blush spreading across his cheeks.

“I mean it.”

Ezra turned and smiled at him.

“It’s not one I normally wear, but given the circumstances…” he bit his lip, his blush darkening.

_ Given the circumstances _ . Crowley couldn’t believe it. The idea that Ezra would consider a date with him cause for putting on a nicer suit—oh what it did to the redhead! His stomach felt like an army of butterflies had been unleashed inside of it, his heart thrummed and fluttered in his chest. His hands itched to do something, itched to find a way to show Ezra just how much those words meant to him.  _ The natural science professor hadn’t even worn a suit like this on his first day at the university, but he was going to wear it for their first date... _

Crowley shouldn’t have. He  _ really  _ shouldn’t have, but he just couldn’t help himself. Without a word, he leaned across the front seat and planted a kiss at the corner of Ezra’s mouth. It wasn’t much, really. It was just a brief, chaste kiss. Their lips hardly brushed against each other, but it was already more than enough. He pulled away, staring wide-eyed as though he couldn't believe what he’d just done.

_ And he couldn’t.  _ They hadn’t actually even been on their first date yet and he’d already kissed Ezra. A hot blush spread across Crowley’s face as he waited for the other man to say something, anything, even a disapproving remark would have been more welcome that the deafening silence that surrounded them. 

“I’m sorry,” he croaked. 

He waited for Ezra to frown at him, to undo his seatbelt and get out of the car. He shouldn’t have been so forward, he  _ really  _ shouldn’t have. He didn’t want to give the blonde the wrong impression, but he feared he had. To his surprise, Ezra didn’t frown, nor did he get out of the car. Instead, he gently placed a hand on Crowley’s arm and gave it a light squeeze. He smiled at him. Crowley turned his head to stare straight forward, unable to look Ezra in the eye. 

“Don’t be,” the blonde said quietly.

And before Crowley could understand what was going to happen, Ezra leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. Crowley turned his head slightly, staring at Ezra over the edge of his sunglasses. Ezra smiled at him and let out a small laugh. Crowley managed a smile and thanked his lucky stars that he hadn’t scared the other man off.

“Although,” Ezra continued. “I do think we ought to start heading over for dinner.”

“Right,” Crowley mumbled, putting the car into gear. 

  
  
  


**********

  
  
  


They arrived at the restaurant a short time later, and didn’t have to wait for a table. They were given a cozy booth for two towards the back of the restaurant, and were grateful for the privacy. They each ordered the wonton soup to start—Crowley insisted it was the best wonton soup in London—and chatted merrily about this and that. Finally, when it was time to order their main course, Crowley revealed his secrets.

“The orange chicken with steamed rice, please,” he informed their waiter. “And he’ll have the same thing.”

The waiter smiled and nodded, jotting down their order. Ezra stole a glance at Crowley while the redhead was occupied. It wasn’t like Ezra to let other people order for him, but this was different. It made his skin tingle. This version of Crowley was so much different than the rash, excitable one who’d kissed him in the Bentley before they’d even made it the restaurant. He was comfortable and confident. Ezra enjoyed getting to watch him like this.

“Although, if you could make mine extra spicy, that’d be great,” Crowley continued. “Not his, though.”

Once again, the waiter nodded and made a note on his tablet, assuring them their order would be out shortly before taking their emptied soup bowls. The wonton soup  _ had _ been quite good. Ezra could see why Crowley liked it so much. 

“I thought you were getting me the best dish at Lucky’s,” Ezra teased.

“I am.”

“But you ordered yours extra spicy. Isn’t that the best way to order it?”

“It is if you like having your mouth on fire.”

“Oh, well. Perhaps it was better to not order mine that way. I prefer sweet over spicy any day.”

Crowley tapped his left temple with his index finger and glanced at Ezra over his sunglasses with a smile.

“It’s almost like I knew that about you!”

They both laughed a little Ezra steered their conversation to the book Crowley was reading until their food arrived. Crowley had to grudgingly admit that for a murder mystery novel,  _ Murder on the Orient Express  _ was quite good. He had several theories on who the murderer or murderers were, all of which made Ezra smile. He would give nothing away. 

Their main course arrived and Crowley took over the conversation, bringing up other movies that Ezra simply had to watch with him. Apparently since Ezra was such a fan of murder, he needed to see a movie called,  _ Niagara,  _ also starring Marilyn Monroe—a detail that did not escape Ezra’s attention.

“You really must have a thing for her,” Ezra remarked.

“I do not!”

“Fine. A thing for blondes then.”

“Not even,” Crowley protested, taking a sip of his water. 

The cook really had made his dish extra spicy. His lips were starting to tingle. He looked at Ezra intently.

“Not all blondes anyway.”

“No?”

“No! Only the good ones,” he added with a smirk.

Ezra feigned innocence.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“Then I can explain.”

“Please do.”

“Blonde by itself isn’t enough to do it for me. They need something more. They have to make good conversation for one, and of course, being classically handsome wouldn’t hurt either.”

Ezra’s cheeks took on a tinge of pink and the orange chicken couldn’t be to blame, for it wasn’t nearly as spicy as Crowley’s.

“And smart! A good brain’s important to me, allows for some witty banter.”

“Because you’re such a fan of witty banter,” Ezra managed.

“I am as a matter of fact. Almost as fond of that as I am someone who can find a murder mystery novel that doesn’t make me want to tear out my hair in frustration.”

They both giggled at that, and Ezra covered his mouth with a hand, trying to hide the blushing smile on face.  _ When was the last time he’d done something like that on a first date? No one could usually get a reaction out of him so easily.  _ Crowley leaned forward, still laughing.

“Oh, come on now, give us a smile.”

Ezra’s blush spread to his ears.  _ Anthony Crowley really was going to be the death of him if he kept this up _ . 

“Oh, you—cut it out.”

“Not until you give us a smile.”

“ _ Anthony _ …”

“Please?”

After a moment, the blonde removed his hand from his face and Crowley could clearly see the joyous smile on his face. It was happy and shining, all pink lips and pearly teeth. It made Crowley want to lean as far as he could across the table and kiss Ezra on the lips—properly this time. And he might have tried it too, if their waiter hadn’t shown up with the bill right at that exact moment.

They calmed themselves, and Crowley paid for dinner—his treat, he had been the one to ask Ezra on the date, after all. They nibbled their fortune cookies, each reading the other their fortunes and joking about what the fortunes could possibly mean. They walked back out to the Bentley, and Crowley unlocked Ezra’s door, opening it for him. 

“Why thank you, my dear,” he beamed, sliding into the car.

Crowley made the quick drive over to Ezra’s flat and parked on the curb outside. He put the Bently in neutral and pulled the handbrake, letting the car idle. Ezra glanced down at his wristwatch for the first time that evening, and realized that it was almost 10:30. He couldn’t believe that they had been at dinner for nearly 2 hours—not that he was complaining. Crowley let his hands stray from the steering wheel, turning slightly so he could face Ezra. 

“Thank you for dinner,” the blonde said quietly.

“Any time.”

There was a beat of silence.

“You had a good time, right?” Crowley asked.

“Oh, yes. I had a  _ great  _ time, thanks to you.”

Crowley smiled appreciatively. 

“There wasn’t anywhere else you wanted to go, was there?”

“No, but…”

“What is it?”

“Well, there was one last thing I’d like to do, before it gets too late.”

“Oh?” Crowley managed, nervously.

“Do you...Do you think we could try that kiss again?”

Behind his sunglasses, Crowley’s eyes widened. 

“Sure—uh—yes! I mean, yes. Absolutely.”

He smiled awkwardly and Ezra smiled back. Before Crowley could do anything else, Ezra scooted a little closer towards him and cupped the taller man’s face in his hands. Crowley fidgeted, a tinge of color decorating his face.  _ He truly was a wonder.  _ The way the redhead behaved when they were alone was so unlike the way he behaved around other people. Ezra slid his fingers up the sides of Crowley’s face and grabbed ahold of his sunglasses. Slowly, he pulled them from their usual spot and placed them on the dashboard. His breath hitched as he saw the way Crowley’s eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

“Oh, Anthony. You have the most beautiful eyes.”

Said eyes quickly darted away. 

“Oh no, please. Let me look at them.”

Slowly, very slowly, Crowley let his eyes meet Ezra’s. His golden-amber ones locked with the other’s crisp blue ones, and it nearly sent him reeling backwards. There was so much unexpected intensity hidden behind Ezra’s eyes, an energy that pierced into him in ways he hadn’t known possible. Crowley wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually he couldn’t stand it anymore.

His eyelids slammed shut and he leaned in, closing the distance between them. He pressed his lips against Ezra’s, savoring the way the other man instantly kissed him back. It was a desperate kiss, sloppy and frantic, as if the minutes they had each spent thinking about this moment had somehow been turned into years. Ezra’s arms wrapped around his neck tightly and Crowley’s arms slid around the blonde’s waist, pulling him closer.

Their lips moved in time with each other and their hands grabbed as though they were afraid they would be torn apart. When they both finally pulled away, they were breathless. Crowley’s chest rose and fell while Ezra’s breath puffed gently against his cheek. Crowley felt himself grinning like an idiot, wide and full of teeth. He closed his eyes as Ezra gently nuzzled against him. 

“I did like that,” the shorter man murmured, pressing a kiss against Crowley’s chin.

He trailed little kisses along his cheek and jaw, until he made it to Crowley’s right ear. Crowley’s breath stilled in anticipation of what would come next. 

“Almost as much as I like this little tattoo of yours.”

“Oh, I don’t know about tha—”

His words changed into a groan as Ezra pressed his lips against the skin right under Crowley’s ear. The kiss was persistent and demanding, but not overly so. Ezra didn’t bite at the tattoo, he wouldn’t do something  _ that  _ forward. He simply kissed at it, sucking the skin lightly and occasionally daring to take the lobe of Crowley’s ear between his lips. Ezra’s kisses and the gentle tug of his hands practically dripped with affection. 

  
  


He wanted to shower the redhead with the same overwhelming attention Crowley had given him all evening, wanted to leave Crowley breathless while giving him something to enjoy.  _ Based on the other man’s reactions, Ezra was slowly achieving his goal.  _ One of Crowley’s hands stayed firmly wrapped around Ezra’s waist while the other one retreated from its spot and balled into a fist so that Crowley could bite down on his knuckles, trying to keep the noises he was making to a minimum.

Even so, a gasp managed to escape his lips as Ezra chanced a kiss a little lower on Crowley’s neck. The blonde suddenly sat up straight, pulling away from him.  _ What was he doing? This was going a little too far for a first date, wasn’t it? _ He awkwardly looked up at Crowley and patted his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry. That was too much,” Ezra said quietly. “I shouldn’t have done that...We only just had our first date after all.”

It was Ezra’s turn to feel embarrassed. He released Crowley from his grasp and moved back towards the passenger’s side, staring down at his shoes.  _ Had he been a complete fool? Perhaps he ought to leave _ . Ezra reached for the door, but Crowley stopped him.

“Hey,” he said, softly but in an urgent tone.

Ezra let go of the door handle and glanced at him.

“Do I at least get a kiss goodnight?”

Ezra stared at him, then smiled. He nodded and leaned back towards Crowley, letting their lips meet once more. It was a gentler kiss, but it still held the passion of their first one. When they pulled away, Crowley looked at Ezra with a content smile.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, handsome.”

“Oh,  _ you _ ,” Ezra laughed.

Crowley waited until Ezra made it up to his flat before disengaging the handbrake and shifting the Bentley into first gear. As he took off down the road, Crowley grinned to himself. Tonight couldn’t have gone better if he’d planned every little detail. Ezra liked him. Really, truly  _ liked  _ him.  _ Crowley couldn’t wait for their next date... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much reading, I really hope you liked it! 
> 
> I have actually just finished another fic I'd been working on for a while, so now that it's complete, I can devote more time to this one. I am hoping to update twice a week instead of just once a week, so things should start to pick up pretty nicely.
> 
> Stick around if you wanna see what happens next, I promise it'll be worth it!


	10. A Prank Gone Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple weeks since Ezra and Crowley's debut date have passed, and now everyone's getting geared up for the office Halloween party. One particular math professor is looking to make the most out of the evening...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Starting my twice a week updates on this work, and I'm super excited! I know it's only gonna be one chapter this time, but it's a longer one.
> 
> Also, a heads up: Crowley's bad language returns in this chapter.
> 
> Alright, I'll shut up and let you read now. Enjoy!

It wasn’t every year that the University of London threw a Halloween party, but for some reason, the math and science departments came together to throw a joint department party. As Halloween landed on a Friday this year, it was all rather easy to put together. They didn’t have to worry about students bothering them, because they would all be going to parties of their own and since the department heads were behind the whole thing, no one had to worry about getting into any trouble. Well...this was  _ almost _ true. 

First of all, only one department head was actually behind the entire idea, Professor Agnes Nutter, to be precise. Dr. Hastur had agreed to the whole thing rather hastily, without really realizing what he was committing to until it was too late. Even so, he didn’t really mind—the party was going to be held in science building anyway. Just because he approved an extracurricular activity for the other professors didn’t mean that  _ he  _ had to attend, which he didn’t. Secondly, there were a few people who did need to worry about getting into trouble. At the very least, there was one person, and his name was Anthony J. Crowley.

He found an evening without the worry of students or Dr. Hastur to be a very promising one—and he intended to make the most of it. His mind inevitably drifted towards thoughts that were more devilish than usual, although if you asked him, it had absolutely  _ nothing _ to do with the costume he was wearing. It wasn’t a requirement to dress up for an office party, but Crowley wanted to. 

He donned a black button up shirt, a  _ sinfully _ tight pair of black skinny jeans, and black dress shoes, along with a dark red tie, a red, plastic devil’s-horn headband, and a red devil’s tail which he tied around his back belt loop. He wore a bit of black eyeliner and red lipstick—which he’d bought specifically for the occasion—along with a set of fake, plastic fangs. He decided to ditch his usual sunglasses, finding that his own, unnatural eye color was just the perfect added detail. Altogether, it had been a very easy costume to assemble, but he was quite proud of it.

Ezra Fell showed up to the Halloween party as well. He wasn’t wearing a costume, but that didn’t stop him from admiring Crowley’s. A rumor had been going around among some of the other professors that Fell and Crowley were rather  _ close _ with each other, a rumor that only seemed to ring true at the Halloween party. They chatted with each other the whole time, sharing drinks and bites of food with each other. Every now and then, Crowley would slip his arm around the blonde’s waist when he thought no one was looking.

They had shared a handful of dates since their debut dinner a few weeks back. The two of them still chatted in each other’s offices, ate lunch together, and seemed to hang around the other whenever the opportunity presented itself. It was as if they couldn’t get enough of each other, always wanting to be together. It drew the attention of several other faculty members. Some—like one Agnes Nutter—smiled and nodded their approval, but most were indifferent. The truth is no one really paid either of them any mind at the Halloween party, allowing them to slip in little nudges of affection and the occasional kiss on the cheek.

Slowly, the party began to draw to a close. It wasn’t exciting as far as parties went, but it had decent food, alcohol, and some light music in the background, so it  _ was _ pretty exciting for a party thrown by a group of academics. Crowley had the perfect idea for how to end the night, but he didn’t plan on sharing that with anyone  _ just yet. _ He watched the room with anticipation, his hands itching to work some mischief.

“You look rather nice tonight, dear,” Ezra said to him quietly.

“Hmm?” Crowley murmured, being pulled out of his own thoughts.

“I said, you look nice. I like your eyeliner.”

The redhead smirked a little at that.

“Do you?” he asked, turning to stare boldly into Ezra’s eyes.

A small blush spread across the blonde’s cheeks. He glanced away. Crowley had been expecting such a response. He’d caught Ezra looking over at him all night. Every time he’d move to grab something or turn his head to talk to someone else, he caught Ezra glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. Once, just once Crowley wanted to catch the blonde staring, but he knew Ezra was too careful for that. He knew the natural science professor was too careful to let his guard down, especially around other people. 

“Well, yes,” Ezra admitted.

When Crowley certain no one was looking their way, he leaned down and took Ezra’s lips in a kiss. It was full of heat, a passion that was not lost on either of them, but the kiss was over much sooner than Crowley would have liked. The blonde ended up placing a hand on his chest after a moment, gently pushing Crowley away. He stared up at the taller man, his cheeks flushed a deep red.

“Perhaps not here, dear,” he murmured.

“Why not?” the redhead asked, leaning in dangerously close.

“ _ Because _ . This is an office party.”

Crowley gave Ezra a little more space, glancing around the room. He knew Ezra wanted to kiss him, he could feel it in the way the blonde’s lips had so eagerly locked with his own, but Crowley decided not to push. He let his mind focus on something else, something he’d been thinking about since before the party began.

“This party’s a little boring...What do you say we get out of here?”

Ezra cleared his throat, flustered.

“W-what—whatever do you mean by that?” he stammered.

“I’ve got an idea,” Crowley whispered.

He raised his eyebrows to emphasize his point.

“An idea for a little Halloween  _ prank _ .”

Ezra felt a wave of relief wash over him, which was replaced immediately by concern.

“A prank? Oh no, I don’t think I’m up for that.”

“Aw, c’mon! It’ll be fun!”

“I don’t know Anthony…”

“It’s mostly harmless,” Crowley assured him.

“ _ Mostly _ ?” Ezra sounded surprised.

“Yeah. What d’ya say Ezra? Give me a hand?”

“No, my dear boy. I really think I’d rather not.”

Crowley looked at him with mock disappointment. 

“Fine. Have it your way.”

He took another sip of his drink and pretended to pout over the rim of his glass. Ezra couldn’t ignore the man’s obvious plea for attention longer than a couple of moments, so he leaned over towards Crowley and kissed the redhead’s cheek.

“I think I’m going to head out soon, but I’ll text you when I get home. Perhaps we can do something tomorrow?”

Crowley’s eyes brightened up at that.

“Sure,” he smiled. “Got anything in mind?”

“Oh,” Ezra sighed. “Brunch perhaps?”

“I like the sound of that.”

Crowley didn’t care if anyone was looking this time. He leaned down once more and gave Ezra a good, firm kiss to last until they would see each other the next day. The blonde blushed once more and bid him goodnight. Crowley watched as Ezra made his way out of the room, smiling to himself.  _ And now, it was time to get to work _ .

Unfortunately for Ezra, he didn’t make it more than a few steps outside the door before Professor Nutter found him. It wasn’t that he was trying to avoid her, or any of the other professors for that matter, but he was tired, and rather wanted a good night’s rest. Somehow, he found himself following after her, walking down the hallway, talking about this and that.

Crowley on the other hand, was able to sneak out of the party entirely unnoticed. He made it back to his office where he quickly unlocked the door and slipped inside. He grabbed the single, red bucket that was sitting behind his desk and glanced outside of his office, peering down the hallway. When he saw that the coast was clear, Crowley stepped out of his office and closed the door behind him, locking it quickly. Soundlessly, he walked back the way he came, then exited the science building. 

He made the quick stroll over to the building where all the other math professors had their offices. It didn’t take him very long to find the one he was looking for. Dr. Hastur’s office was a spacious room on the first floor with a window along the exterior of the building, giving him a nice view of the university’s well-groomed landscaping and the car park just beyond. Quite intelligently, Crowley had parked in one of the first rows of said car park, ensuring that he could make a quick getaway. 

When Crowley arrived at Dr. Hastur’s door, he reached into the red bucket he’d brought with him and pulled out a key. He’d bribed the janitor into giving him a spare key for the office. All it had taken was a cup of tea, a pastrami sandwich, and Crowley had a key to Hastur’s door. He quickly unlocked the door and slipped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. Crowley slid the key into his pocket, then reached into the bucket once more. He pulled out two bottles of water, which he quickly opened and drained into the bucket.

Carefully, using Dr. Hastur’s office chair to stand on, Crowley balanced the now filled bucket of water on top of the door so that as soon as someone pushed it open—that someone being Dr. Hastur—they would be drenched.  _ It was a harmless prank really, _ Crowley thought to himself as he pushed the office chair back to its original spot. There was nothing dangerous about it after all, it was only a little water.  _ If Hastur thought Crowley had forgotten about the most recent funding snafu, he was sorely mistaken. Besides, this way there would be no way to track the prank back to Crowley, assuming no one caught him in the act. It was a perfect plan… _

He threw the two water bottles into the garbage can and turned his attention towards the window.  _ The only thing to do now was get the hell out of Dodge. _ Everything had worked out splendidly so far. There had been no witnesses, no one to stand in his way. The key had worked perfectly, and Crowley even managed not to spill the water on himself. Which meant it was only natural that something should go wrong. The sole problem with Crowley’s plan was this: while the office itself was spacious, the window that Crowley intended to use as his method of escape was not. Skinny as he was, he had quite a bit of difficulty squeezing out of the window. 

Crowley had wisely chosen to crawl out legs-first. His toes were just dragging along the ground, when suddenly, he found himself quite stuck. He wiggled his hips backwards a little bit, but that only seemed to make matters worse. Not to mention, it  _ hurt _ . He squirmed and writhed, trying to fit more of his body through the small opening. He braced his hands on either side of the window frame and tried to push himself out. It didn’t work.

Soon enough, Crowley was grunting and groaning with frustration. After several moments, Crowley realized there was a chance he wouldn’t be able to get through the window. Disappointed that his plan was a bust, Crowley decided to pull himself back into the office to see if there was a way he could set up the bucket and still get through the front door. Unfortunately for Crowley, he was  _ really _ stuck. Just as he failed to go backwards out the window, he failed to pull himself into the office. Panic began to set in and Crowley kicked, trying to get some kind of traction from the ground.

  
  
  


**********

  
  
  


Ezra finally succeeded in getting away from Agnes. His chat with her had landed him just outside the math department. He wasn’t sure why she insisted on walking all the way over there just so they could talk about the annual symposium which was coming up in a few weeks, but she merely told him she liked to talk and walk. Ezra shrugged it off, glad to be closer to the car park anyhow. It wasn’t the route he normally took, but it would have to do. He was tired and ready to go back to his flat.

Just as he rounded the front of the building, Ezra spotted something that made him do a double-take, then look again. Someone’s legs appeared to be dangling out of the far office window on the bottom floor. Ezra knew some of the math professors had gone back to their offices after the party to pick up a few things, but something about the whole situation seemed... _ off _ . He knew some of the professors had been drinking, but surely none of them were  _ this  _ drunk.

Then, Ezra noticed something that made his heart skip a beat.  _ There was something familiar about that particular pair of legs _ ...He watched them for a moment longer as the owner of said legs began to struggle. Then, it hit him.  _ The tail _ . There was a red, costume devil’s tail tied to the back belt loop of the person’s pants. Only one person on campus was wearing one of those and Ezra knew him… _ The prank _ , Ezra realized.

The blonde sighed and ran a hand over his face, shaking his head. He had no idea what Crowley was doing with his back half hanging out a window, but it didn’t matter. They may have only just started dating, but Ezra felt the need to help him, even if Crowley was clearly responsible for his own dilemma. He slowly made his way over to the window, glancing around to see if anyone else was watching. Ezra thanked whoever was listening that there was no one else to be seen.

As he got closer, Crowley’s struggles to get free were becoming more and more frantic. He realized that the other man was panicking, which only seemed to make the entire situation worse. Ezra observed him for a moment, and despite his best efforts, a grin made its way across his lips. Crowley really did look  _ ridiculous _ like this. The little grunts and whines he made while trying to free himself were absolutely hilarious. Not to mention, Ezra found himself getting a good look at Crowley’s backside—it was hanging out of a window after all! 

The way Crowley wiggled his arse, trying to squirm out of the window was simply adorable. Had they been dating longer, Ezra might have been tempted to give it a quick swat. Instead, Ezra placed a hand gently on the side of Crowley’s thigh, letting him know he was there. Crowley froze, then:

“ _ Aaaiieeeee _ !” he shrieked, his voice shrill with shock and panic. 

Of all the responses Ezra had anticipated the redhead to have, that hadn’t been one of them. It would have been quite funny if Crowley wasn’t currently trying to kick him.

“Anthony! Anthony it’s me!” Ezra called. 

But Crowley didn’t hear him. Instead, he continued to kick at Ezra, cursing at him. The blonde had no choice but to grab onto Crowley’s legs, lest he receive a sharp kick to his stomach. Crowley was not pleased with this development.

“You fucking—unhand me, right now!”

“Anthony stop, it’s—”

“Let go, you goddamn wanker!”

Ezra wrapped his arms around the redhead’s knees so he could get a better hold on him. Crowley’s legs dug into his chest as Crowley struggled. Ezra called to him again, but Crowley wasn’t listening.

“No!” he screamed. “No! I said get your hands  _ off _ me! You fucking—”

“Anthony—”

“Get your bloody hands away from my arse!”

“They’re...They’re not—”

Ezra sighed.  _ That was more than enough of that. _

“Anthony! It’s Ezra!” the blonde yelled with a loudness that belied his size.

Crowley suddenly went completely rigid. 

“Ezra?” he asked timidly.

“Yes Anthony, it’s  _ me _ .”

The blonde relaxed his grip on Crowley’s legs, letting out a heavy sigh. 

“Oh  _ thank God _ it’s you and not some—”

“Anthony, what the hell are you doing stuck in a window?” Ezra interrupted.

“Long story,” Crowley admitted after a moment. 

There was a beat of silence.

“Do you think you could push me back in?” he asked weakly.

“What?”

Before Crowley could repeat himself, he was cut off by the sound of someone walking quickly down the hallway towards Dr. Hastur’s office. Crowley’s eyes went wide.

“On second thought, pull me out!”

“ _ What _ ?” Ezra demanded.

“Pull me out! Pull me out!” Crowley cried.

With all the strength he could muster, Ezra gripped Crowley’s legs tightly and pulled. It took a moment, but he managed to get him loose. Crowley let out a loud groan as his hips squeezed through the window opening, then suddenly he was through and falling onto the ground outside the building. Crowley whacked his head on the window on his way out and landed on top of Ezra, knocking the air out of the other man’s lungs. For a moment, they laid there in a heap, groaning in pain. 

The next moment, someone burst through the door of Dr. Hastur’s office, and Crowley’s well-laid trap came pouring down on them. They let out a cry of surprise and slipped, falling onto the floor. Crowley realized what had happened, and began to chuckle to himself. Ezra—who clearly had more common sense between the two of them—quickly clamped a hand over Crowley’s mouth to quiet him. When he was confident that Crowley wouldn’t make noise, Ezra removed his hand and squirmed out from underneath the redhead to look at him properly. Despite it all, Crowley was  _ grinning _ .

“Let’s go to the Bentley,” he whispered.

And before Ezra could protest, Crowley hauled him to his feet and took off towards the car park, running like an excited child. He held one of Ezra’s hands in his own, pulling the blonde along with him. When they were far enough away from the building, Crowley started to laugh. They ran all the way to Crowley’s Bentley, where the redhead unlocked the first door he came to—the rear passenger’s door—and shoved Ezra inside. He slid into the back seat after him, closing the door and locking it for good measure.

For a moment, they just stared at each other, Ezra with an accusatory expression and Crowley with a look of utter joy. They caught their breath and slowly, very slowly, Crowley reached for the blonde. Ezra’s expression softened as he let Crowley wrap his arms around him, pulling him closer. He gingerly ran a hand through Crowley’s hair, and the redhead winced.

“How’s your head?” Ezra asked quietly.

“It’s alright,” Crowley replied. “Hurts a little,” he added with a soft chuckle.

“Anthony, what were you doing?”

Crowley sighed.

“I was pulling a prank on Dr. Hastur. Thought I’d plant a bucket of water on the top of his door.”

Ezra blinked at him.

“Anthony, you could get in serious trouble for doing that!”

Crowley shrugged.

“Dr. Hastur wasn’t at the party. He didn’t end up setting off the trap, someone else did.”

“Who?”

“I have no idea.”

They were silent for a moment. Ezra circled both of his arms around Crowley’s neck, leaning into him a little bit. Finally, he smiled.

“I suppose it is rather funny,” Ezra conceded. 

Crowley leaned in for a kiss, slow and soft.  _ Kissing Ezra was like taking the best medicine. _ Suddenly, the dull throb at the back of his head seemed to fade, and soon Ezra was the only thing Crowley could focus on. He let out a low moan against the blonde’s lips, wrapping his arms around Ezra a little tighter. When they finally pulled away, Ezra rested his forehead against Crowley’s cheek.

“Just don’t do it again,” he said, scolding Crowley half-heartedly.

“Alright,” the redhead chuckled. “But only if you do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Will you finally kiss me the way you’ve been wanting to all night?”

Ezra stared up at him.

“What?”

“Oh come on!” Crowley said, leaning down to whisper in Ezra’s ear. “I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me all evening.”

“Why...you really  _ are _ a cheeky little devil,” Ezra muttered.

“I am tonight.”

With that, Ezra leaned in and kissed him again—and  _ yes _ , he did it properly this time, holding nothing back. He laced his fingers in Crowley’s hair pulling the redhead even closer. Soon they were kissing each other feverishly, licking at lips and tugging at hair, sliding hands over each other’s clothes like a pair of teenagers in the back of Crowley’s car. Ezra made a small noise and pulled away.

“What is it?” Crowley asked.

“Nothing, you just...well, you have  _ fangs _ ,” he said quietly.

“Oh. Do you like my new fangs, Ezra?”

“ _ Anthony _ …”

Crowley pulled him in for another kiss, making sure to occasionally put his fake fangs to good use, nibbling at the blonde’s bottom lip. They only parted when suddenly, someone was slapping a palm against the window behind Crowley’s head. They each jumped at the noise, startled. Crowley released Ezra just long enough to peer out the window, then rolled it down.

“Um...Hello, Professor Ligur,” Crowley managed. 

And what a sight the other professor was. Ligur stood there, his suit completely drenched with water. In a moment, it was evident who had been the victim of Crowley’s little prank. The way his hair dripped and his shirt and tie clung to the front of his chest—he really was quite the spectacle. Not as much of a spectacle as Crowley, however.

The lipstick Crowley had put on as part of his costume was now smeared, partially across his face, and partially across Ezra’s. His long hair was a mess, strands sticking out in different directions due to the fervent grasping and tugging of Ezra’s hands. His clothes were wrinkled as well, his tie loosened and the first few buttons on his shirt undone. Professor Ligur blinked at the pair of them for a moment, then he glared at Crowley.

“ _ You _ ,” he growled. 

Ligur gestured to the state of his clothing.

“You did this.”

Crowley cleared his throat and ran a hand through his tousled hair.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said.

“Oh yes, you do.”

Crowley shook his head, frowning. 

“No, ‘fraid not...What, did you spill punch on yourself?”

“No,” Ligur replied through gritted teeth.

“Then I have no idea what happened. We’ve, uh...well, we’ve been in here for a while.” 

Crowley turned to look at Ezra with hooded eyes and in the most seductive voice he could manage, he said:

“ _ Isn’t that right _ ?”

The blonde’s face turned a deep shade of pink and Ligur let out a noise of disgust, storming off. Crowley rolled up the window and turned his attention back to Ezra.

“Now... _ where were we? _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I very much hope you enjoyed reading that as much I enjoyed writing that! Thanks for sticking with me, and keep it up, because I will have the next bit uploaded by 09-05...


	11. Hiking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra wants to take Crowley hiking before the weather gets too cold outside. A nice trek through the Epping Forest allows both of them the freedom to say what they want, and Ezra shares something important with Crowley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter has brief references to eating disorders, specifically not eating, also known as anorexia. If this bothers you, please do not read this chapter. If you know you have certain triggers, don't push yourself.
> 
> That being said, it very brief and is handled in a very positive manner. All ideas presented here reinforce body positivity, something I feel is very important. It's very mild, but I would rather warn you redundantly than hurt someone. 
> 
> Thank you, and enjoy if this is something you're willing to read.

The weather was beginning to change, fall now fully in swing. It wouldn’t be long before winter set in and there would be a constant chill in the air. Ezra decided to take the opportunity to arrange a hiking trip for himself and Crowley in the Epping Forest, just outside of London. He packed a backpack with a few bottles of water, some apples, granola bars, sandwiches, and chips—all perfectly good snacks for a hiking trip—along with a thermos of hot tea to fight off the morning chill. He wore an old pair of hiking boots, a sweater, and a light jacket. 

To his surprise, Crowley was dressed with equal sensibility. He would have never guessed the redhead would own anything suitable for outdoor activity—he didn’t strike Ezra as the kind of man to enjoy that sort thing—but all of his clothing looked refreshingly outdoorsy. He wore an old set of sneakers, a pair of utility pants, a flannel button-up, and a brown leather jacket. Crowley looked surprisingly at home in the forest setting, like he enjoyed camping as much as he did the prospect of shopping. None of these clothes looked like they’d been recently purchased, however. 

They all appeared to be thoroughly used, and Crowley seemed quite comfortable in them. The two of them decided to drive over in Ezra’s car as it was much more practical for the job at hand. The Bentley looked better, but it would be no match for the rough, winding paths that led to the hiking trails. They chatted a little bit as they drove, Ezra pointing out landmarks or things he couldn’t remember seeing the last time he was at the forest. Crowley let his right hand rest on the blonde’s thigh as they drove, occasionally giving it a light squeeze each time Ezra found something new to talk about.

“Come here often?” Crowley smirked when they parked.

Ezra gave a gentle roll of his eyes and smiled back.

“Actually, I do like to hike here regularly. The trails are quite beautiful this time of year.”

“Can’t say I knew that. Er...the hiking  _ or  _ the trail bit. Didn’t know either.”

“Well now you do,” Ezra smiled. “Help me unpack?”

They made quick work of dividing up the provisions Ezra had brought between the two of them, carrying everything in their backpacks. Crowley had been wise enough to bring one of his own just in case. After a quick stretch from sitting in the car, they headed for one of the trails. They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the view of the trees around them, their leaves painted varying shades of red, orange, and gold in the soft, morning light. Crowley quickly decided that Ezra was right.  _ The trail was absolutely gorgeous _ .

After a while, they started to chat, walking side by side. Crowley’s hand brushed against Ezra’s, and the blonde laced their fingers together. He smiled up at Crowley and let out a small laugh. The redhead gave his hand a bit of a squeeze and grinned. He loved the way Ezra’s nose and the corners of his eyes wrinkled a little bit when he laughed. Crowley had left his sunglasses in the car. With the cover of the trees, it wasn’t bright outside enough to need them. 

Besides, he didn’t want the usual tint they cast on the world around him to interfere with anything this morning. He wanted to see the world as it was, the way Ezra liked to see it. They stopped to rest for a while, to get some water and maybe eat a quick snack. Ezra reached into his backpack.

“Do you like apples?” he asked.

“I love apples,” Crowley replied. “They’re my favorite fruit.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

Ezra mentally catalogued the information. He wasn’t sure when he’d need it, but one never knows when information like that will come in handy. He tossed Crowley an apple and they leaned against one of the tall oak trees that lined the edges of the trail. Crowley took a deep breath and glanced at the forest around them before smiling contentedly and taking a bite out of his apple. Erza began to nibble at a granola bar.

“This is nice,” Crowley said.

“It is,” the blonde agreed. “I’m glad you let me talk you into it.”

Crowley shrugged.

“Getting to spend the day with you? I didn’t really need more convincing than that.”

Ezra gave him an embarrassed smile and Crowley leaned over to kiss his temple. He wasn’t sure how many times he’d said things like that to Ezra, but the blonde still reacted like it was the first time Crowley had ever paid him a compliment. It was sweet really, how easy it was to get such a reaction out of the other man.  _ His boyfriend _ , Crowley thought. They didn’t make a big deal out of it, making posts online or telling everyone they knew that they were officially a couple. It just sort of happened. Crowley had decided to test it one day out of curiosity.

They had met at a diner for breakfast and Crowley had referred to Ezra as “my boyfriend,” as casually as possible while talking to their hostess. She’d asked if they were waiting on anyone else, to which Crowley replied, “No. It’s just me and my boyfriend,” wondering if the blonde would say something. When he simply smiled at Crowley, a happy blush coloring his cheeks, he knew that Ezra felt the same way. The memory made Crowley grin to himself. He grinned at Ezra too, feeling perfectly free to express himself in the privacy of the empty trail.

“So you like hiking,” Crowley said after a moment.

It wasn’t really a question, it was more of a statement that requested further explanation. Ezra took a sip from his water bottle and placed it on the forest floor, next to the base of the tree they were leaning against.

“I do. It’s one of my favorite outdoor hobbies, actually.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes. I’m not a huge fan of sports, and honestly I’ve never been any good at them. Hiking is a lot of fun though. I enjoy it, anyhow.”

“Is your family very big on outdoorsy stuff?” Crowley asked. 

“No, not really,” Ezra replied, taking another bite of his granola bar. “Actually I think I’m the only one who likes spending time outside. My brother’s more of an indoors person. He only likes to look at nature in the photographs in stores or online.”

“Hmm,” the redhead mused. “When did you get into hiking?”

“Oh, my last few years of secondary school I think. I hiked a lot more often then, I went almost every weekend when I was in college, too.”

“I didn’t know that. That’s nice!”

“Yes, well,” Ezra played with the wrapper of his granola bar, “I rather enjoyed it.”

He was quiet after that. Crowley watched him nibble at his snack for a moment. The blonde suddenly didn’t seem interested in what he was eating, opting to pick at it instead. 

“Wish I had more time to do it now,” Ezra offered listlessly.

Crowley narrowed his eyes at him.  _ He wasn’t crazy _ . Something in Ezra’s demeanor had changed, he was sure of it. He had now completely lost all interest in his food, which was strange as Ezra loved having little snacks throughout the day. Not to mention, they’d been hiking for well over an hour by now. Surely he was hungry.

“Are you feeling alright?” Crowley asked.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Ezra replied, not quite meeting the redhead’s eyes.

“You sure? Your stomach isn’t bothering you, is it?”

“No, no. My stomach feels fine.”

He was telling the truth, but Crowley knew he was hiding something. Ezra would have been a god-awful poker player, because his face effortlessly gave every detail away. They made eye contact for a moment, and Crowley began to read lines of guilt and regret in his expression. Ezra let out a shaky breath. For a moment, Crowley was afraid Ezra was going to cry.  _ What had Crowley said? What had he done wrong? _ The redhead was confused.

“Truth is, I guess it’s just a sensitive topic for me,” the blonde admitted.

“Hiking?” Crowley asked, furrowing his brows.

“No,” Ezra smiled weakly. “Not exactly...just  _ why _ I did it when I was in school.”

“Oh...Ezra, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m sorry I asked.”

“Don’t be. I feel like I should tell you.”

“Ezra, please, you don’t need to—”

“I  _ want _ to Anthony.”

He shoved his half-eaten granola bar in his jeans pocket. 

“I trust you,” he added after a moment. “I know you well enough to tell you.”

“Okay,” Crowley said quietly. “Then I’ll listen.”

The blonde took a deep breath.

“When I was younger, I was rather... _ heavy _ . I got made fun of a lot. My older brother Gabriel was especially unkind.”

“I’m...I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright...My point is, I tried to find some way to lose the extra weight. As I mentioned, I’m pretty rubbish at sports, so that was out of the question. Eventually I gave hiking a try.”

“But that’s good isn’t it?” Crowley offered. “I mean—that you found something you enjoy out of it.”

“Well, yes but…” Ezra trailed off.

He let out a heavy sigh.

“I wasn’t smart about it. I was desperate to slim down. The hiking wasn’t the problem, really. It was the other stuff I did along with it.”

“Like what?”

Ezra crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his left shoulder nervously. Crowley inched a little closer. He didn’t want to startle him, so he avoided putting a hand on him, but he wanted Ezra to know he was there. The blonde bit his lip, clearly thinking about how to reply to Crowley’s question.

“I didn’t really eat the way I should have...Or rather, I didn’t eat  _ enough _ . I thought if I stopped eating as much, then I’d slim down. It was a very easy hole to fall into, but not so easy to get out of. I made myself sick, started doing poorly in school...I made some stupid choices for a smaller waist size. Hiking was one of the only times I think I ever had a clear mind.”

Crowley blinked at him.

“Are you...are you telling me that you—”

“Yes...I all but completely starved myself for nearly a year.”

The blonde’s eyes began to tear up a little.

“Wouldn’t know it to look at me now, would you?”

Crowley felt his jaw go slack.

“Don’t you even say that,” he said in a low voice. “There’s nothing wrong with you Ezra, you understand?”

Ezra looked away, nodding. The redhead couldn’t help himself anymore. He stretched his arms out, motioning for Ezra to step closer. He shuffled forwards and let Crowley wrap his arms around him. For a moment, it was completely silent, even the birds in the trees and wind seemed to fall quiet. Then, Crowley heard Ezra let out a small sob. 

“I’m sorry, I…” he muttered against Crowley’s jacket.

“Don’t,” Crowley replied, a little harsher than he meant to. “Don’t  _ ever _ apologize. Not to me, not to anyone. You hear me?”

Ezra nodded.

“You have  _ nothing _ to apologize for. And you have no reason to feel bad about yourself. I mean, look at you.”

He held Ezra at arm’s length, his gaze washing over every inch of the blonde’s form. 

“You’re beautiful.”

Ezra looked away.

“No, no. I mean it. You are...Your blue eyes, your smile. The way you laugh, the way you kiss me, how it feels when you wrap your arms around me. I like it, I like all of it.”

“ _ Anthony _ .” 

“I mean it! I do! I don’t care what your waist size is. I like the way you laugh and talk every time we go out to dinner. I like how you’re always offering me nibbles of whatever you’re munching on. I’d rather have all of that than have you being skinny as a rail. Trust me,” Crowley added, glancing down at himself. “It’s not  _ all  _ it’s chalked up to be.”

Ezra managed a weak laugh and Crowley pulled him in again, kissing his cheek.

“Besides,” he said quietly. “I quite like the way you fill out your trousers.”

The blonde’s embarrassed blush returned in full force, and Crowley stole a quick kiss from Ezra’s lips. He then shifted slightly, cupping Ezra’s face in his hands.

“You’re alright though? There’s nothing else bothering you?”

“No,” Ezra smiled. “Not anymore.”

Crowley smiled back.

“ _ Good _ ...You’ll tell me if there is?”

“Of course my dear,” Ezra replied, and meant it.

The redhead nodded his understanding.

“Perfect! Now, what do you say we—”

Crowley took a step forward and was about to continue along the trail. Unfortunately, Crowley didn’t realize that directly in front of him, there was a root from the oak tree sticking up out of the ground, and nearly tripped on it. The problem wasn’t that he went skidding, face-first onto the forest floor. The problem was that in order to keep himself from doing so, Crowley threw his weight backwards and ended up falling on his arse in a collection of shrubs just around the other side of the tree they’d been standing by.

He lay flat on his back, staring up at Ezra, trying to remember how to breathe.  _ It hurt _ . Ezra rushed towards him, then stopped.

“Oh no,” he murmured.

Crowley gave one of his arms an examinatory shake.  _ Nothing seemed to be broken _ .

“It’s alright,” he croaked. “I’m fine.”   
  


“Uh, Anthony—”

“It’s okay, I think I just got the wind knocked out of me. Help me up, will you?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Crowley furrowed his brows.

“What?”

“In fact, I don’t think I should touch you at all.”

“I’m not seriously injured,” Crowley protested, but the blonde wasn’t paying attention.

“How could I not notice that sooner?” he chided himself.

“Notice  _ what _ ?” the redhead grumbled.

“Anthony…” Ezra said, leaning in slightly. “That’s poison ivy you’re laying in.”

“Oh.”

Realization set in.

“ _ Oh _ !”

Crowley rolled onto his stomach much to Ezra’s dismay, then quickly got to his feet. He brushed himself off like he’d been laying in dust instead of poison ivy.

“There we go,” he said. “All better.”

“No,” Ezra replied, shaking his head.

“What do you mean, ‘no?’”

“Anthony...you just rolled in poison ivy!”

“But I’m wearing long sleeves and pants,” the redhead whined.

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Sure it does!”

“Anthony,” the blonde said in a stern voice. “Your hands touched it, your clothes touched it, and then you proceeded to wipe down all of your clothes with your hands. You’ve just ensured that it  _ will _ spread.”

“ _ Fuck _ !” Crowley growled.

Ezra sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t  _ feel _ itchy,” Crowley assured him.

“No, not yet you don’t. But trust me, you will.”

He sighed again.

“Let’s get you back to the car. We’ll need to stop at a drugstore and get you some anti-itch cream.”

They made their way back to Ezra’s car, much more quickly than they had strolled away from it. The blonde set to work, trying to poison-ivy-proof the passenger’s side of his car. He thankfully had a couple of towels to put down on the seat. He sternly told Crowley not to touch anything. And that meant  _ anything _ . They drove back into town and stopped at a store to pick up a few tubes of anti-itch cream. Crowley helped direct Ezra to his flat, seeing as the blonde had only just been there to pick Crowley up that morning, and they parked in one of the visitors’ spots.

Another brief scolding from Ezra and thorough scrubbing in the shower later, Crowley was slumped on the sofa in his sitting room, wearing a tank top and boxers despite the time of year. He wasn’t cold though, in fact, his skin felt like it was on fire. Ezra had been right. It hadn’t taken more than an hour for him to start itching all over. His hands and neck were the worst because the skin there had come into direct contact with the plant, but the rest of him wasn’t doing so well either.

“ _ Ow _ ,” Crowley whined, wincing.

Ezra had donned a pair of latex gloves he’d picked up at the drug store and was not busy rubbing anti-itch cream into the back of his neck and the tops of his shoulders. He then worked his way down Crowely’s arms. He rubbed some of the cream into the redhead’s hands, then circled around to get the rest of him. 

“Well, at least you won’t be doing that again,” Ezra murmured.

“It’s not my fault!” Crowley protested. “It’s not like I saw a patch of poison ivy and said, ‘oh that looks like fun, let me go throw myself in it!’”

“Could have fooled me.”

“I  _ fell _ !”

Crowley relaxed a little as Ezra rubbed some of the cream on his face, being careful not to get it too close to his eyes. He got the front of Crowley’s neck, then his chest. If he didn’t itch so much—and if the blonde hadn’t pulled on rubber gloves—Crowley might have enjoyed the way Ezra’s fingers were rubbing circles over every inch of his exposed skin. He tried to enjoy the feeling, but quickly found he couldn’t, so he contented himself with the idea of it. 

When the blonde was finished, he disposed of the gloves and put the cream down on the kitchen counter so Crowley could get it whenever he needed, without having to touch too many other things. Crowley sat, hunched over, trying not to get cream on his sofa. Ezra gave him a sympathetic glance.

“It’ll be alright dear.”

“Can the itch spread?” the redhead asked suddenly. 

“It  _ can _ ...I don’t think it will though, as long as you gave yourself a thorough scrubbing, head to toe.”

“Oh, I did. It was as close to scratching as I could get.”

“Don’t scratch! That’ll make it worse Anthony.”

“Fine.”

There was a beat of silence.

“If it did spread, where would it spread?” Crowley asked carefully.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, would it spread to my stomach? Further down my chest?”

“Hard to say,” Ezra replied. “It depends on if you scratch...and of course where you touch yourself.”

Crowley looked up at the blonde suddenly, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Well, generally I—”

“Oh,  _ don’t _ !” Ezra scolded. “You knew what I meant!”

A beat of awkward silence passed between them. Then, Crowley started to laugh. Ezra’s face turned a shade of pink and he fidgeted on the opposite end of the sofa. Finally, he sighed.

“What am I going to do with you?”

“I can think of a few things,” Crowley jeered, getting in another jab at Ezra.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it, not for a while anyway. There’s no sense in both of us itching,” the blonde replied with measured icyness in his voice.

Crowley stared at him, then he began to laugh again.

“You’re funny Ezra,” he grinned. “That’s another thing I like.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much reading, I hope you liked it!
> 
> I should have the next chapter ready to go by 09-09, so keep hanging in there! I promise to keep doing twice a week updates.


	12. People Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra Fell's first semester at the University of London is coming to a close. Students and professors alike may be in need of a vacation, but that won't stop the spread of rumors concerning a particular pair of professors...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than some up of the other updates I've done in the past, but I will admit it was one of my favorites to write. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The students of the University of London were ready to get out for their holiday break, and so were their professors. They were all collectively beginning to grow lazy in their work, counting down the days until they could retire to their homes for Christmas and spend a few weeks without the constant weight of essays to be written—in the case of the students—and exams to grade—in the case of the professors. Even so, this did not mean that the students didn’t pay attention to any..._ social _developments. Particularly, developments in some of their professors’ personal lives. The personal lives of Professors Crowley and Fell to be exact.

Only a blind person wouldn’t have noticed the gradual change in their behavior. While they weren’t exactly hiding the nature of their relationship, the only faculty member to observe any of their more _ romantic _behavior—one Professor Ligur, to be precise—never made a point of sharing the information. Truth be told, he was far too embarrassed out the entire situation he’d been in when he caught them snogging in the back of Crowley’s Bentley, and it figured it would be better for all parties involved if he said nothing.

For several weeks, they were free to meet up when and where they pleased, spending the majority of their free time together. When they weren’t in their own classrooms and offices, they were often in each other’s, chatting happily and laughing. At first, everyone assumed that they were simply good friends, but one day, something happened that changed _ everything _. 

Adam Young was a bright student, one of Professor Fell’s favorites as a matter of fact. He liked to stay after class—much to the annoyance of his friends—to ask the professor questions about this or that. Fell found him to be a gifted student and a bright young man with the knowledge and curiosity to do just about whatever the lad set his heart to. This wasn’t to say Adam Young was without his mischievous streak, however.

One day, the Wednesday before final exams to be precise, Adam Young decided to pay Professor Fell a visit at his office. He had a question about their reading, and couldn’t find any answers in other books or online that made much sense to him. When he found that Professor Fell wasn’t in his office, he thought about poking his head into Professor Crowley’s office, next door, to see if he knew where the natural sciences professor had gone off to. To his surprise, Professor Crowley’s office door was closed, even though his lights were on. The blinds were mostly shut, though there was a single crack that Adam managed to squint through to see if anyone was there.

To their credit, Ezra and Crowley tried to keep their interactions on campus as professional as possible. While they never hid the fact that they were dating, they didn’t go out of their way to flaunt it either. Of course, this didn’t prevent them from sneaking little kisses here and there when the timing allowed, but only when they were certain no one would see them. Considering that they had pulled the blinds to Crowley’s office and closed the door, they figured they were safe.

They had started off talking about their day, about their schedules for finals, and then, just after Ezra—who had perched himself on the edge of Crowley’s desk—announced that he needed to leave for a meeting, Crowley decided to walk around the corner of the desk and give him a quick kiss before he left. It wasn’t an overly passionate one, even if Crowley _ had _ ended up placing a knee in between Ezra’s legs in the process. It was a simple, ‘ _ kiss and off you go now, love’ _sort of thing. 

But none of that mattered. What _ did _ matter was that Adam Young had seen it. Which meant that in turn, everyone in Ezra Fell’s morning Monday and Wednesday lecture would hear about it, and so too would their friends. And eventually, some of the other faculty members would as well. It even reached the ears of one Professor Agnes Nutter, who was perhaps the only person not entirely surprised by this news. Instead, she merely gave a smile, but it was not a knowing smile. It was a smile that said something more along the lines of: _ about time _.

It even got back to Ezra Fell and Anthony J. Crowley via the department’s backchannels—a.k.a. the bimonthly department meetings—though the version that reached their ears was not entirely an accurate one. What had started out as the report of a simple kiss quickly grew into something much more sordid—the most lusty snogging any of the students in the University of London had ever seen, to be precise. Completely shocked and utterly appalled, Professors Fell and Crowley made their way back to the latter’s office, unsure of what else to do.

“This is preposterous,” Ezra grumbled. “I mean, it was only a kiss!”

“I agree. I think these students have too much free time on their hands and not enough homework.”

Crowley leaned back in his chair for a moment and watched as Ezra paced back and forth in the small space around the other side of the desk. A thought suddenly came to him, a thought he rather liked. Without a word, he got up from his seat and walked over to the window. He pulled the blinds shut, then crossed over to the door. He made sure that it was fully closed, then turned the lock.

“What are you doing?” Ezra asked, coming to a stop.

Crowley shrugged.

“If they want something to talk about, we should give them something to talk about, you know?”

“No. I don’t know.”

“Look, if they’re gonna paint me like a villain, I may as well play the part,” Crowley said, taking a step towards Ezra.

“What do you mean?”

“What I _ mean _,” he replied, putting his hands on the shorter man’s shoulders so that he could guide him backwards towards the desk, “is that it doesn’t seem very fair.”

Ezra let himself be gently walked backwards until the backs of his legs were up against the side of Crowley’s desk. Crowley pushed downward on his shoulders a little bit and Ezra took a seat on the edge of the desk. Ezra watched as Crowley closed the distance between them and slid a hand under his chin. 

“What doesn’t seem fair?” he nearly squeaked as Crowley removed his sunglasses, staring down at him with those gorgeous, golden eyes.

“This whole kissing business,” Crowley replied, leaning in. “It doesn’t seem right to accuse us of fooling around if I don’t actually get to snog you in my office.”

“O-Oh!” Ezra replied, suddenly realizing what the other man was getting at. 

He didn’t have time to say much else after that, because Crowley’s lips crashed into his own. They kissed until they were both breathless, winding their arms around each other. Crowley balled a fist in Ezra’s hair, tugging his head back slightly—but not hard enough to hurt, of course. Ezra broke free of the kiss, gasping for air. Crowley continued trailing kisses along the side of his neck, sliding a finger along the side of his collar in an attempt to free more of the blonde’s skin. 

Ezra was amazed that Crowley hadn’t come up for a breath yet, it was almost like he didn’t need the air. When he finally pulled away, Crowley leaned down so that he could look Ezra in the eyes.

“Are you alright so far?” he panted.

“Yes,” Ezra replied with an earnest nod. “And you?”

“_ Yessss _.” 

Crowley took his lips in another passionate kiss, but Ezra tried to break free. Crowley was reluctant to let him.

“I think...I think I’ve...figured...it out,” he managed between kisses.

“Figured...what out?”

Ezra finally pulled away once more.

“The boots, the tattoo, and now you’ve started to hiss. Dear boy, are you part snake?” he teased.

Crowley laughed, sliding his hands under Ezra’s jacket.

“No,” he shook his head.

He tilted Ezra’s head up to look him in the eyes once more, an intent expression on his face.

“But I have been known to do some rather impressive things with my tongue.”

A hot blush spread across Ezra’s face, from the apples of his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

“Oh, really?” he asked.

“Oh, yes.”

Ezra looked at him with a bold expression, his eyes hooded. He batted his eyelashes a couple of times and his lips quirked into a smile that simply _ dared _ Crowley to prove his claims. And Crowley did. _ Oh yes he did… _

In the back of his mind, Ezra wondered what his students would think if they could see him now. A part of him, however small, was in agreement with Crowley. If they wanted something to talk about, they could have it. It was an interesting plan, one that made Ezra’s skin tingle just thinking about it. Though he would never admit it out loud, part of him found the idea of being caught by a student—some self-assured college-going, twenty-something-year-old who naively thought they’d seen it all—oddly alluring. _ To think of being caught while Crowley was snogging him like this. _It made him giddy with excitement. 

He happily situated himself so that Crowley could move between his legs, his knees pressed against the outside of Crowley’s hips. Ezra let out a soft moan as the redhead explored his mouth. Crowley flicked his tongue over the roof of Ezra’s mouth and the blonde shuddered. Soon the noises he made grew louder. A particularly noisy hum of pleasure actually caused Crowley to pull away, chuckling softly.

“I like that you’re enjoying yourself Ezra,” he teased. “But I was only kidding about giving them a show. You don’t _ actually _need to try to get someone’s attention.”

“Oh,” Ezra murmured, embarrassed. 

“It’s a good plan though.”

Crowley leaned back in and captured his lips once more. _ It was a great plan, really. It meant he got to keep kissing Ezra as much as he liked. _The only problem with this plan was that out of all the people who could have peeked in on them, perhaps the only person in the entire university who wouldn’t go to the trouble of spreading the news was precisely the person who happened to catch them in the act. He was a janitor who simply went by the name of Shadwell, and he had been a janitor for the university longer than any of its current students, and most of its current faculty could remember. 

He grumbled to himself a lot and seemed to bicker with one of the university’s psychology professors, Professor Tracy, whenever the opportunity presented itself. He wasn’t one for other people’s drama though, and probably wouldn’t know a good bit of gossip if it stared him in the face—just as it did that afternoon. He stopped outside Professor Crowley’s door to see if the office needed any attention—a quick emptying of the wastebasket perhaps—but he found that the door was locked, even though the lights inside were still on.

He tried peeking through the lone crack towards the edge of the blinds that covered the window and saw something he had not expected to see. He raised his eyebrows for a moment, then stepped back from the window. _ Oh well, _ he thought to himself. _ One less room to clean _. And with that, Shadwell continued down the hallway. It wasn’t any of his business what these university professors got up to in their spare time anyway.

If that math-spouting flash bastard wanted to snog the face off of some great, southern pansy, then that was _ his _ business, not Shadwell’s. Besides, he was a member of the grand Witchfinder Army. He had seen more terrifying and alarming sights than a pair of academics making out when they thought no one was looking—even if most of these sights happened to also be fictional. So Shadwell went on his merry way, his thoughts already drifting towards the disapproval of a particular psychology professor by the time he made it to the end of the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I sincerely hope you liked it.
> 
> I will have the next bit ready to go by 09-16 and I guarantee you, you won't want to miss what happens next! So stick around!


	13. All I Want for Christmas...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra's first semester at the University of London is over and it's time for Christmas break. He decides to spend most of the holiday with a very special someone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. I know the last update was shorter than some of the previous ones, so I've decided to make up for it with this one. 
> 
> Also, I hope you you're a fan of fluff, because that's basically all that this is.
> 
> Enjoy!

Finals’ week at the University of London came and went in a blur, and soon enough, students and faculty alike were dismissed to go home to their families for the holiday break, much to everyone’s relief. Ezra and Crowley found themselves spending less time going out for nights on the town, and more time cozying up together on one or the other’s sofas. The constant chill of the winter air seemed less unpleasant in each other’s company. Ezra had decorated his flat for the holiday season—Christmas being his favorite time of year—but Crowley had not. The blonde had refrained from saying anything so far, but as Christmas Eve drew nearer, he just couldn’t help himself. 

“You know, this really is a  _ wonderful  _ time of year,” Ezra said quietly, pressing a kiss into the top of Crowley’s head.

Ezra had been reading a book on Crowley’s sofa, the redhead comfortably leaned against his chest, their legs stretched out on the cushions in front of them. The blonde had wound his arms around Crowley’s middle, holding the book so that both of them could read it. He kept the book poised there, even though he knew Crowley had started to doze lightly, his eyelids fluttering closed.

“Hmmm?” the redhead murmured, sleepily.

“Christmas,” Ezra clarified. “It’s the best time of the year.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” Crowley agreed quickly, paying more attention to the warmth of Ezra’s arms wrapped around him than to his words.

“I simply love putting up Christmas decorations. It’s one of my favorite parts of the holiday.”

“Really? Can’t say I knew that.”

“Oh yes...I notice...you don’t have any?”

Crowley opened an eye at that. He lazily stretched his arms in front of him, yawning, before reaching for Ezra’s wrists. He wordlessly encouraged the other man to put down his book in favor of lacing their fingers together. Ezra smiled softly, squeezing Crowley’s hands with both of his own.

“Are you saying I should put up Christmas decorations?” Crowley asked, a sly smile evident in his tone of voice.

“Well...I’m not saying  _ you _ have to do it,” the blonde replied. “I mean,  _ I _ could always give you a hand.”

Crowley turned his head to glance up at Ezra over his shoulder. 

“Ezra. If you wanted to put up a few decorations and brighten the place up, all you had to do was say so.”

Ezra blinked at him.

“Really?”

“Of course! What did you have in mind?”

“W-Well—umm…”

The redhead nestled against Ezra’s chest a little more firmly, rubbing one of his thumbs along the side of the blonde’s hand encouragingly. 

“Yes?”

“Well, I thought something simple would be nice. Perhaps a bit of garland over the mantel, some lights above the window.”

“Would you like a tree?”

“Oh no, that would be too large. Not to mention, I have no idea how we’d get it up here.”

“What about a mini tree?” Crowley offered. “I’m sure we could find one.”

Ezra hummed to himself, thinking for a moment. 

“In that case…”

  
  


**********

  
  
  


They wasted very little time in getting Crowley’s flat all spruced-up for the holiday. They found a small, pre-decorated one-foot tall tree to place on the mantel above Crowley’s fireplace. It wasn’t very big, more of an accent piece than a true Christmas tree, but Ezra thought anything larger would encroach on Crowley’s space, despite the redhead’s assurances it wouldn’t. They decided against the lights but opted to hang up some brilliant, gold garland, tacking it up around the flat’s windows with double-sided tape. Ezra made them some hot cocoa to celebrate a bit of decorating well-done, and they discussed their plans for Christmas.

On Christmas day, they each had agreed to meet with their respective families. Crowley would be spending the day with his father, and Ezra would spend the better part of the afternoon driving to Leeds so he could be to his brother’s house by dinner. Naturally, they both wanted to have a Christmas celebration, just the two of them, and decided the best day to do so would be on Christmas Eve. Because they had gone to the trouble of putting up decorations in the sitting room, Crowley insisted they celebrate at his flat. They could spend the day strolling about the mall, looking at holiday displays, then come afternoon, they could return to Crowley’s flat to cook dinner.

The idea of cooking together was  _ exciting. _ Crowley couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone to the trouble of preparing dinner for someone, but he couldn’t wait to try. The morning of Christmas Eve, they went to the market together, buying a small cornish hen—a turkey would be much too large for just the two of them—some stuffing, potatoes, and the ingredients to make a green-bean casserole. It was very ambitious of them to prepare an entire meal from scratch when they hadn’t even tried making something simple, like pasta, together. 

Ezra handled the cornish hen while Crowley peeled potatoes. They talked idly as they worked, laughing and joking with each other. After a while, Crowley walked over to the sitting room and switched on his antique record player. The old thing—along with his expansive collection of vinyl records—was his most prized possession. He seemed practically as fond of it as he was his Bentley,  _ and that was saying something. _ Hardly a couple weeks seemed to go by when Crowley wasn’t doing something with the car—changing the oil, tinkering with the engine, giving it a good polish. 

Ezra had no idea where Crowley kept all of his tools to work on the car, even if he did live in a larger condo-style flat, nor had he any idea how Crowly found the time to devote to it. The man was always busy. When he wasn’t in meetings, he was teaching, when he wasn’t teaching, he was taking on some other project, and when he wasn’t doing any of that, he was with Ezra, paying him as much attention as he could. The blonde smiled to himself as he watched Crowley put a Best of Queen vinyl record on, start the turntable, and gently lower the needle. The music itself wasn’t very festive, but Crowley liked it.

A few hours, a completely burnt cornish hen, some unappealing, crunchy mashed potatoes, and an order of Chinese take-out later, they were curled up on Crowley’s sofa, each holding a container of Chinese food. Ezra enjoyed his orange chicken while Crowley nibbled at some dumplings, a cozy, tartan throw blanket draped across their laps. They were watching an old black-and-white Christmas film Crowley had picked out, Miracle on 34th Street. There was a small fire going in the fireplace nearby, and it seemed to be putting off just enough heat—combined with the central heating system of course—to keep them pleasantly toasty. 

By the time the movie was nearly over, Crowley was leaning against the right arm of the sofa, with Ezra curled against his left. Crowely had an arm around him, resting his chin on top of Ezra’s downy, white curls. They had each had a glass of wine after finishing off their dinner and were content to bask in the warm aftereffects of the alcohol. When the movie was over, Crowley turned off the television and Ezra nuzzled against his chest. 

“That was a nice choice, my dear,” he said softly.

“Glad you liked it,” Crowley smiled.

They stayed like that for a moment, happy to be in each other’s arms, sharing a blanket and sharing their warmth. Crowley gently kissed the top of Ezra’s head, pulling him just a little bit tighter against his side. Ezra nestled against him, humming contentedly before tilting his head up to leave a kiss on Crowley’s jaw. Just as Crowley moved to wrap both of his arms around Ezra’s middle, the blonde moved out of the way and got up from the couch.

“I almost forgot,” he said with a large smile on his face. “I brought your present!”

“My what?”

“Your present! I got you a Christmas present.”

“Oh, Ezra you shouldn’t have!”

“Yes, I should. You’re the man I’m dating, and you deserve a Christmas present,” Ezra replied matter of factly.

With that, he disappeared into the kitchen where he had left his things and returned a few moments later with a large, thin object, wrapped in shiny Christmas-themed wrapping paper. Crowley held up a hand, telling Ezra to wait just a moment. He moved the tartan blanket aside and got up from the sofa, wandering into his bedroom. He too returned after a few moments, with a smaller, rectangular-shaped package wrapped in plain brown paper. 

“Oh, you got me a present as well,” Ezra exclaimed. “And here you were getting upset because I got  _ you _ one.”

“Yeah, well—whatever. Do you want your present or not?” Crowley asked, pretending as though he didn’t really care. 

Ezra grinned at him, seeing right through his ruse. They exchanged gifts and sat back down on the sofa. Crowley returned to his previous spot against the right end of the sofa, and Ezra sat next to him, cross-legged. He stared up at Crowley with joyous anticipation. 

“Go ahead, open yours first,” he urged Crowley.

Crowley tore at some of the shiny wrapping paper, exposing some of the present. He examined it for a moment, then looked up at Ezra.

“Ezra this better not be what I think it is,” he said, his tone suddenly serious.

“Guess you’ll have to open it to be sure.”

He finished tearing off the paper and held up the present so he could look at it more clearly. It was a white vinyl record cover with a once-bright-yellow banana on it.

“ _ The Velvet Underground and Nico _ ,” Crowley read aloud. “The only album of theirs I don’t have on vinyl.”

He stared at Ezra with bright golden eyes, eyes that almost looked orange from the glow of the fireplace. Crowley had started taking his sunglasses off when they were together because he knew how much Ezra loved to look at his eyes.

_ “Didn’t,” _ the blonde corrected.

“How did you remember something like that? I must have only talked about it once.”

Ezra shrugged. 

“Good memory, I guess.”

Crowley leaned in and kissed him. 

“It’s an original,” Ezra added. “I could have ordered you a reprint, but they just happened to have one at an old record shop in Soho.”

“I know it is,” Crowley said, looking at the worn corners of the record cover. “You really, really shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to.”

“Yes, but  _ this _ ? This must have cost you—”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that now you have every single one of their albums on vinyl.”

“Thank you Ezra,” Crowley said after a moment.

He leaned in again and kissed the shorter man, hungrily this time. His arms snaked around Ezra’s middle, pulling him close. He only let go once he realized Ezra still hadn’t opened his present. He gently patted the top of Ezra’s thigh.

“Your turn now,” he grinned.

Ezra picked up the paper-wrapped object that had been sitting in his lap and tore open the brown paper. He quickly unwrapped the present and stared at it. It was a book, a very old one at that. He turned it over so that he could read the title and gasped.

“Anthony, you…” Ezra trailed off. 

“Go on.”

“ _ The Picture of Dorian Gray _ by Oscar Wilde,” he read. “And it’s—”

“It’s a first edition.”

“Oh,  _ Anthony _ . Where did you find this? Oh—you shouldn’t have bought this for me, you really,  _ really  _ shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to. I knew you’d like it.”

“I love it! But a first edition, this must have cost you a small fortune!”

Crowley reached over and cupped Ezra’s face with one of his hands.

“That’s for me and the man I bought it from to know and you to never concern yourself with again.”

“Anthony—”

“Just promise me you’ll enjoy it, every time you pick it up.”

Ezra blinked at him. 

“ _ Of course _ I will.”

“Then that’s all I could ever ask for,” Crowley replied.

Ezra’s lips quivered and his eyes suddenly became a bit dewy. He only just set his new book down on the coffee table beside Crowley’s new record in time to fling his arms around the redhead’s torso. Crowley hugged Ezra against his chest, wrapping his arms around Ezra’s neck.

“Oh Anthony,  _ my Anthony _ …”

Crowley took Ezra’s face into his hands and kissed him with all the passion and vigor he could manage. Ezra kissed him back enthusiastically. He pressed against Crowley as though he were afraid that Crowley would disappear at any moment. Crowley suddenly felt something wet and hot against his cheek. He pulled away to look at Ezra and saw that he was crying.

“Oh, no, no. What’s wrong Ezra? I thought you were happy.”

“I  _ am  _ happy,” he replied. “You’ve made me  _ so  _ happy, Anthony. And I don’t just say that because of a book.” 

Crowley wiped the tears from Ezra’s cheeks with his thumbs, then kissed away any other ones that threatened to form. He pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes.

“You’ve been so kind to me, whether you want to admit it or not,” Ezra continued with a laugh. “You let me tell you anything, and you care Anthony. You care so much and I-I…”

Crowley pressed a gentle kiss to Ezra’s lips.

“ _ I love you _ ,” they whispered.

Crowley’s eyes opened and they stared at each other, almost questioning whether or not they had really just heard what they thought they had heard.

“Did you…” Ezra began.

“Jinx?” Crowley grinned.

Ezra laughed, they both did. They couldn’t help themselves, they were just so  _ happy _ . They giggled like it was the world’s greatest inside joke, and they were the only two who understood. They laughed lightly between fervent kisses on each other’s lips and cheeks and chins and foreheads. And somehow, in the midst of all the laughter and kisses and grabbing and touching, Crowley ended up stretched out on the sofa, head against the right armrest, with Ezra hovering over him, leaving trails of wet, eager kisses along the side of his neck.

When the blonde finally pulled away to catch his breath, Crowley grabbed him by his hips, holding him as if he were trying to keep him from getting up. Ezra’s hands slid down the front of Crowley’s sweater, taking in the feel of his chest and stomach through his clothes. Crowley looked up at him and swallowed hard. He closed his eyes.

“Stay,” his voice was a breathless whisper.

“What?” Ezra asked, leaning down to kiss him once more.

“I said  _ stay _ ,” Crowley repeated just as Ezra’s lips hovered above his own.

“I’m not exactly going anywhere right the moment, am I?”

Crowley smiled and shook his head. For as bright and clever as Ezra was, there were some things that he seemed rather clueless in. 

“I mean stay, as in  _ stay the night _ ,” Crowley said. 

Ezra stopped just before their lips could brush against each other. Much to Crowley’s frustration, he pulled away so they could look each other in the eyes.

“Anthony...I don’t know.”

Crowley reached up and stroked Ezra’s cheek with his thumb. 

“But I love you. I meant it. I mean it.  _ Please _ .”

“And I love you too, darling. But I’m just not sure about this...”

“Come on, it’s Christmas Eve. No one should be alone on Christmas Eve.”

The blonde was quiet. Crowley poked at his side, grinning. He wasn’t much of a singer, but he thought he would give it a try.

“ _ Oh, the weather outside is frightful _ —”

“Anthony—”

“ _ But the fire is so delightful _ —”

“I’m serious—”

“ _ And since we’ve no place to go… _ ”

Crowley looked up at Ezra, trying to get him to sing the next line. His smile faded when he saw the blonde’s stern expression.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Anthony,” Ezra sighed. “What are you looking for if I stay?”

Crowley shrugged at him.

“I mean it. Answer me honestly.”

Crowley ran a hand through Ezra’s already messy hair, staring up at him with such  _ fondness _ . 

“What do you think I’m asking for?”

Immediately Crowley realized those were the wrong words. Ezra rolled his eyes, sitting up. He let out an exasperated noise and scooted away from Crowley.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Crowley said softly. “I wasn’t being sarcastic. I was serious.”

Ezra stared at the coffee table in front of them, frowning.

“Ezra please...Will you look at me?”

After several tense moments, the blonde finally locked eyes with him. He almost looked frightened, clearly overwhelmed.

“I don’t  _ expect _ anything from you, if that’s what you think,” Crowley assured him. “I just wanted to make sure you knew that.”

He watched carefully as realization swept over the blonde’s face.

“You mean you...you  _ weren’t  _ asking for…” he gestured vaguely.

Crowley took a deep breath, then sighed. He shook his head.

“If you don’t want to, then neither do I.”

He met Ezra’s gaze dead-on, making sure the blonde understood how much he meant that. 

“I love you Ezra,” he added quietly.

There was a beat of silence, then:

“I love you too.”

Cautiously, Crowley inched towards him on the sofa. Ezra let the redhead slowly wrap his arms around him, pulling him closer. Crowley waited for Ezra to let him know it was alright before he kissed him. He felt the blonde’s hands wind around his neck and Crowley let out a sigh of relief between kisses. 

“What did you want, then? If you don’t mind my asking,” Ezra inquired when they both broke away for air.

“Just this,” Crowley replied. “I just want to be with you, Ezra. I want to hold you in my arms and fall asleep with you so that I can wake up to your face on Christmas day.”

Ezra blinked at him. His lips parted in surprise.

“That’s all I want Ezra,” Crowley continued. “Nothing more,  _ but please, _ nothing less.”

After a moment, Ezra answered with a kiss, soft and sweet. He leaned down so he was pressed against Crowley, nestling into chest and winding his arms around him. Crowley buried his face against Ezra’s hair and closed his eyes. As the night drew on, they shifted so that they were resting side by side, Crowley with his back pressed against the back of the sofa and Ezra wrapped tightly in his arms, their legs tangled together. The redhead allowed Ezra to use his arm like a pillow, his other arm draped over the blonde’s middle. Ezra twined his fingers with Crowley’s, lifting the other man’s hand to place a kiss on his knuckles. At some point—though neither of them could say exactly when—they both fell asleep and Crowley got his wish.


	14. An Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas day in London, and Crowley wakes up to something delightfully unexpected...

When Crowley woke up the next morning, he found that his arm had fallen asleep from being laid on by Ezra. The blonde was still snoozing lightly, with Crowley’s body curled around him. His face was buried against the crook of Crowley’s elbow, the front of Crowley’s arm leaning against his forehead. His back was flush with Crowley’s chest, with one leg still curled up on the sofa, the other dangling over the edge. Crowley stretched his arm—the one that wasn’t being laid on—then re-wrapped it around Ezra, rubbing gentle circles in the blonde’s chest until he woke up. After a moment, Ezra yawned and sat up, moving towards one side of the sofa. 

Crowley slowly followed suit, moving so he could still hold Ezra in his arms as they sat on the sofa. Ezra leaned back a little bit, still happy to settle against Crowley. He turned his head to look at Crowley and redhead smiled sleepily at Ezra, who gently ran his fingers along Crowley’s arms before tangling their fingers together in response. The first few rays of sun were beginning to filter in through Crowley’s living room window, lighting up the room. The sunlight bounced off of Ezra’s white-blonde hair, making the top of head glow as if he was wearing a halo. Crowley chuckled to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Ezra asked, yawning.

“You look like an angel,” Crowley responded, his voice deeper than normal from sleep.

“I do not,” Ezra blushed.

“Sure you do. Sun makes you look like you’ve got a halo.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Guess I’m gonna have to start calling you ‘angel,’  _ angel _ .”

The blonde shot him a look and Crowley grinned.

“Do I get a good morning kiss?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I don’t know about that.”

“What, you’ll share a sofa with me all night, but you can’t kiss me?”

“I haven’t showered or brushed my teeth since yesterday morning,” Ezra pouted.

“Me either, but then, I don’t really care.”

With that, Crowley reached up and pulled him down into a kiss. They each had a bit of stubble as neither of them had had a chance to shave that morning, but it didn’t seem to bother either of them. In fact, Crowley rather liked level of intimacy that went with it. He’d never had the luxury of getting to see Ezra first thing in the morning, his eyes heavy with sleep and hair all pushed up on one side from laying down. Crowley tilted his head to one side, deepening their kiss. Ezra gave a surprised noise, but that only seemed to encourage Crowley further.

He allowed Ezra only enough room to twist around in order to meet him better, their lips moving in sync. Just when the blonde relaxed his jaw enough, Crowley darted his tongue inside the other man’s mouth, causing Ezra to all but squeak against Crowley’s lips. The redhead pulled away, laughing.

“I told you I didn’t care,” Crowley grinned. 

Ezra mumbled something to himself, a dark blush covering his cheeks. Crowley leaned in and gave him another kiss on the lips—a chaste one, this time—winding his arms even tighter around the blonde’s waist. Crowley would have been content to stay that way well into the afternoon, but Ezra seemed to have other ideas. With a little effort, Ezra managed to pry Crowley’s hands off him, getting up from the sofa. Crowley quickly got to his feet and stretched, brushing off the pins and needles feeling that was now coursing through the parts of his body that had fallen asleep. Ezra attempted to step away from the sofa, but Crowley quickly had his arms around the blonde’s middle once more.

“How about we each take a quick shower and grab breakfast?” he offered, resting his chin on Ezra’s shoulder.

“Oh, I’d love that, but I don’t think today’s a good day for that,” Ezra replied.

“Why not?”

“ _ Because _ ,” Ezra said, placing his arms on top of Crowley’s. “You have to go visit your father and I need to get a few things ready before I drive to see Gabriel.”

Crowley removed his hands from the blonde’s waist, only to quickly turn him around so that Ezra was facing him. The redhead stepped a little closer and wound his arms around the shorter man again, letting their hips and stomachs meet. Ezra gave him a half-hearted frown before wrapping his arms around Crowley’s neck.

“They can wait,” Crowley told him.

“Darling, that’s not exactly fair.”

“Nor fair to who? It sounds fair to me.”

Ezra smiled and shook his head. He stood on his tiptoes and gave Crowley a gentle peck on the lips.

“Another time, perhaps,” Ezra suggested.

“Please, angel?” Crowley asked.

Ezra’s cheeks went a bit pink at Crowley’s new term of endearment for him.

“It’s Christmas day Anthony, I don’t there’ll be many places open for breakfast.”

“Yeah, alright,” Crowley conceded. “But you could still stay a little while longer.”

Ezra chuckled softly to himself, laying his head against Crowley’s shoulder. He felt the redhead press a kiss into the top of his hair before burying his face there. They stayed like that for a while, arms wrapped around each other, just  _ holding _ , and not really wanting to let go. Finally, Ezra loosened his grip on Crowley, pulling away. They shared another kiss that seemed to end much too soon for Crowley’s taste, and the redhead reluctantly allowed Ezra to escape his grasp.

Ezra ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to neaten his unruly curls and set about gathering his things from Crowley’s living room and kitchen. When he got everything he needed, Ezra headed out to his car, followed by a shivering Crowley who had—despite Ezra’s repeated reminders—neglected to put on a jacket. Ezra put his things on the passenger’s seat of his Nissan and turned to face Crowley.

“You’ll text me once you make it to your brother’s house, right?” the taller man asked. 

“Of course, dear.”

“And you  _ will _ be back for New Year’s Eve?”

“Yes. New Year’s Eve, I’m all yours.”

“ _ Perfect _ .”

With that, Crowley gave him a goodbye kiss and watched as Ezra walked to the driver’s side, opening the door.

“See you later then, _ angel _ !” he called, heading back towards the front door of his flat. 

Ezra smiled and shook his head, then started up his car. A few minutes later and he was on his way back to his own flat, still smiling to himself about the sweet man he was dating. He glanced down at the book Crowley had given him as a present, and his smile grew into a grin, immediately replaying the events of the previous night. The gift giving, the  _ I love you’s _ , the hours spent curled up on the sofa with Crowley asking for nothing more than to hold him— _ he loved it all. _ As he drove, Ezra began a mental countdown for New Year’s Eve, when he would get to see Crowley again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens on New Year's? Stick around to find out!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it. The next chapter will get uploaded by 09-16!


	15. New Year's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra and Crowley haven't seen each other since Christmas and now, they get to celebrate New Year's Eve together. There's just one problem: they've had a little too much to drink. Particularly Crowley...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here we go, the New Year's chapter, as promised!
> 
> Enjoy!

The minute hand of the small clock hanging on the wall in Ezra’s sitting room flicked over to 12, joining the hour hand.  _ It was officially midnight,  _ which meant it was officially the start of a new year. The blonde laughed happily and turned to look at his boyfriend, a grin on his face.

“Happy New—”

But he didn’t get much further than that. Crowley cut him off by lunging forward and sealing their lips together in a messy kiss. Ezra let out a startled  _ mmpph!  _ against the redhead’s lips. He grabbed at the front of Crowley’s sweater, vaguely grateful that neither of them were holding a wine glass at the moment. Crowley’s hands flew to the blonde’s hips, gripping him tightly. Without any further warning, the taller man walked forwards—effectively walking Ezra backwards—until the backs of Ezra’s legs collided with the armrest of the blonde’s modest loveseat.

Ezra quickly wrapped his arms around Crowley’s neck as they toppled backwards onto the loveseat’s cushions. Crowley, to his credit, laughed the whole way down. He landed so that he was cheek to cheek with Ezra, their torsos and hips pressed together. Both of Ezra’s legs dangled over the edge and Crowley curled his legs up, resting his knees against the armrest, awkwardly. Ezra squirmed underneath him, trying to find a way to get comfortable. Crowley laughed again, propping himself up on his elbows. His breath smelled like alcohol.

“Happy New Year’s,” he grinned.

He took a moment to look Ezra in the eyes before kissing him,  _ hard _ . Crowley tasted like alcohol too, but Ezra didn’t mind. He’d been drinking as well, though not as much as Crowley. When they broke away, Crowley glanced down at him and smirked. If there was one thing Crowley liked about being with Ezra for the holidays it was that the blonde didn’t wear his usual button up shirts. Instead he wore sweaters, or old t-shirts and cardigans like the ones he was wearing tonight. The point was, these more casual clothes didn’t have a collar, and therefore exposed more of Ezra’s neck.  _ Crowley was determined to exploit this change. _

He trailed a few sloppy kisses along the skin just under Ezra’s jaw, moving downward. Crowley then happily turned his attention to the side of the blonde’s neck, pressing kiss after kiss to Ezra’s skin, smiling the whole time. He moaned appreciatively as the other man tipped his head back against the cushion, allowing him full access to Ezra’s neck. The blonde let out a small gasp as Crowley began to suck at the sensitive area at the base of his neck. Then, he felt Crowley’s teeth nip lightly, just grazing the skin there. He let out a yelp.

“Anthony,” he whined.

If Crowley heard him, he didn’t let on. Instead, the redhead continued his teasing onslaught of soft, playful nibbles, until all at once, Ezra felt Crowley’s teeth sink into his skin properly. A tinge of pain followed, only to be drowned out by pleasure. The blonde moaned then, his hands sliding up to tangle in Crowley’s hair as the redhead began to suck harshly at his neck. Receiving all the encouragement he needed, Crowley sucked and bit at him a little harder, and Ezra was certain he’d have a collection of dark marks decorating his skin. Then, Crowley bit a little too hard for Ezra’s taste. 

“ _ Ow,  _ Anthony,” Ezra muttered, sliding his hands between them.

“Sorry,” Crowley breathed against his neck.

“It’s alright, just...a little less  _ teeth _ , would you dear?”

The redhead nuzzled against him, his nose and then his lips brushing against Ezra’s ear.

“What...don’t you like it when I use my teeth?” he whispered.

Before he Ezra could respond, Crowley quickly took the lobe of the blonde’s ear between his lips, tugging it slightly. Ezra gave a small whimper, but didn’t move to stop Crowley as the redhead started to nibble at his earlobe. Slowly, Crowley made his way back down to the base of Ezra’s neck, kissing and sucking and nipping at him once more. Ezra only attempted to stop Crowley when he bit one of the already sensitive, rapidly darkening marks on his neck, complaining quietly. He reached to put a hand on Crowley’s shoulder, but the taller man’s fingers found their way to his wrist. Crowley grabbed Ezra’s wrist and gently held it still.  _ Just wait, _ the gesture said.

Crowley slid his tongue over the injured area in lieu of an apology and Ezra arched against him, twisting his wrist out of Crowley’s grasp in favor of lacing their fingers together. Crowley then turned his head to get the other side of Ezra’s neck, paying it the same thorough attention. Before long, the blonde began to ease himself into the feel of it all, noises of pleasure leaving his lips once more. Crowley suddenly unlaced their fingers and slid his hands along Ezra’s sides, all the way down to the bottom of his shirt. He paused to place a kiss over the center of Ezra’s throat and slid his hands under the man’s shirt, touching bare skin. 

Ezra drew in another sharp breath, his mind racing.  _ Surely he understood. _ Of course he did, Ezra was no fool, after all. He’d understood what Crowley wanted the second they’d landed on the loveseat. It didn’t bother him, not in the slightest. It didn’t bother Ezra that Crowley  _ wanted  _ things—the blonde was just as guilty of that. But it had been a long time since Ezra Fell had found himself in a position such as this. The last time—the time in Crowley’s flat on Christmas Eve—had been a bit of an accident. He hadn’t meant to end up pressing Crowley down into the sofa then, but this was different, it was  _ deliberate. _

Crowley meant to be doing everything he was doing now—and he was being so  _ wonderful _ about it too. It was like he could read into what Ezra wanted from him. And if he sensed Ezra was being pushed too far, Crowley would ease up, being mindful of him the whole time. Ezra’s head spun as he tried to remember a single lover who had ever been as considerate as Crowley, not just in this moment, but in the entirety of their relationship. When the answer returned as a complete blank, Ezra had to fight against every fibre of his being as he reached for the redhead’s hands.

_ It wasn’t right. Crowley loved him. He loved him so dearly. _ And that was exactly why Ezra made the decision to stop him. Crowley had been drinking.  _ A lot. _ If they were going to do this, they would do it sober. Ezra wanted to remember every second of what happened, and he wanted the same thing for Crowley. The redhead pulled back in confusion as Ezra grasped his wrists. The blonde opened his eyes and glanced at him. He wanted to tell him. Oh, how he wanted to gush out everything right then and there! But Ezra couldn’t. His lips refused to make the right words.

“Your hands are  _ cold _ ,” he mumbled instead.

“Good thing I have you to warm them up,” Crowley replied, trailing his fingers upwards.

Ezra writhed a little and tightened his grip on Crowley’s wrists. Crowley groaned and squeezed Ezra’s sides, just under the ribs, not wanting to be stopped, not  _ now _ anyway.

“Move your hands angel, your hands are in the way.”

“Anthony,” he warned.

“What? They can’t be  _ that  _ cold.”

“That’s not why I’m stopping you.”

He stared at Crowley intently, hoping the redhead would understand.  _ Coward, _ Ezra thought.  _ Tell him. Tell him how amazing he is, how wonderful! Say that you love him, that you need him, that you’re so afraid to lose him and that’s why… _

“Ezra?” Crowley murmured.

_ Tell him!  _ Ezra’s mind screamed.  _ Tell him how special he is, you idiot! Tell him that he deserves something special, something better than a drunken hook-up on a sofa.  _ But Ezra couldn’t say any of it, he didn’t know how. Before he understood what was happening, Crowley was moving away from him. A few moments and some careful maneuvering later, they were sitting next to each other on the loveseat. The redhead stared down at his feet nervously.

“I’m sorry,” Crowley muttered. “I should have asked.”

Slowly, Ezra found his voice again.

“No. No, it’s quite alright dear,” he said softly. “It’s...It’s not that I don’t  _ want _ to...But...you’ve been drinking, we both have. Perhaps it’s time we get some rest.”

Crowley nodded his understanding.

“You’re right,” he sighed, getting up from the loveseat.

He wandered into the kitchen, searching for his keys. As soon as Ezra realized what he was doing, he flew into the kitchen after him, managing to snag Crowley’s car keys before the redhead could grab them. 

“Absolutely not,” Ezra replied when Crowley insisted that he was fine to drive.

“I’ve only had a few drinks.”

“A few too many? I agree.”

“I’m fine!” Crowley protested, stumbling slightly to the right, proving that he in fact, wasn’t.

Ezra instinctively rushed forward and put an arm around Crowley’s waist, holding him steady.

“No. You’re staying here for the night,” the blonde said in a stern voice.

Crowley made a face at him, trying to pull away from Ezra.

“Now hold on a moment,” he managed. “You want me to stay here for the night, but you don’t want to…” 

The redhead gestured vaguely. Even so, Ezra caught his meaning.

“I stayed over at your flat, how is that so different from you staying at mine?”

“ _ Because _ .” Crowley said, leaning in. “It’s New Year’s and I’ve had some good wine and I’d be all alone with you.”

Crowley tried and failed to hide a sly smile, putting a hand on either of Ezra’s hips. The blonde thought about arguing that Crowley had been alone with him all evening but quickly decided against it. Instead, Ezra reached for Crowley’s hands, taking them in his own. Slowly, the blonde started to walk backwards, leading Crowley towards his room.

“What are you doing?” the redhead asked.

“I’m taking you to my room,” Ezra replied. “You really ought to rest.”

Crowley quirked an eyebrow at him.

“So you won’t let me take off your shirt, but you want to take me to bed? Talk about mixed signals, angel.” he teased.

Ezra blushed for a slew of reasons he knew Crowley had yet to fully understand.

“I don’t see a problem with sharing a bed with you Anthony,” he managed. “We’ve already shared a sofa, after all.”

Ezra was still leading him further into the flat, toeing the bedroom door open as they entered his room.

“I suppose you’re right,” Crowley said, smirking at Ezra. “I still think it’s funny though.”

Ezra shot him a look and sighed. 

“I’m afraid you left me with no choice,” he replied in spite of himself.

He watched Crowley’s amusement grow.

“Oh, really?”

“But of course dear...How else am I going to keep an eye on you all night?”

With that, Ezra led Crowley over to one side of his queen-sized bed. He leaned over and turned down the covers, gently patting the mattress, encouraging Crowley to sit on the edge of the bed. The redhead sat down and watched as Ezra toed out of his shoes and slipped off his socks. He placed them by the foot of the bed, then walked over towards the small desk in the corner. Ezra took off his cardigan and draped it over the back of his chair. He then took off his trousers, standing there in nothing but his boxers and a t-shirt.

“Er...make yourself comfortable darling,” he said, walking over to the other side of the bed. 

Crowley blinked at him. He knew it was only natural to undress before getting into bed, but he realized just then that he’d never actually seen so much of Ezra’s bare skin before. He knew the night wouldn’t... _ progress _ any further than it had, but a part of him was still very much interested in entertaining the possibility. Crowley glanced down at his pants then back at Ezra.

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly.

“Of course I’m sure,” Ezra replied. “If you want to sleep in your jeans and sweater, that’s up to you. If not—”

The blonde crossed over to a set of drawers and pulled one open. He took out a cotton t-shirt and walked back over to the bed. He placed the shirt beside Crowley.

“You can always wear this. It might be a bit more comfy for you.”

Crowley let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding in. The redhead quickly slid out of his pants and sweater, kicking off his shoes in the process. He let them fall to the floor, his back turned to Ezra, before sliding into his boyfriend’s shirt. It was a little big on him, but Crowley didn’t mind. He was too thrilled at the idea that he was being allowed the intimacy of wearing one of Ezra’s shirts. He watched as the blonde settled in under the covers before joining him. The queen-sized mattress forced them to lie rather close to each other, but neither of them seemed to mind.

Ezra turned out the lights and adjusted his pillow, making sure that Crowley was comfortable as well. After a moment, he coaxed Crowley into rolling onto his side. The redhead felt Ezra scoot just a little bit closer before draping an arm over his waist, snuggling against his back. He felt Ezra’s other hand gently push his hair off the back of his neck, quickly burying his face there.

“Goodnight, darling,” Ezra murmured against his skin.

_ He would tell Crowley. But not tonight. _

“Goodnight, angel.” 

  
  


**********

  
  


Crowley was roused from his sleep as the first rays of sunlight began to filter in through the cracks of Ezra’s blinds. He blinked his eyes open slowly, taking several deep breaths. He slid his feet against the covers, remembering that he was dressed in nothing more than his briefs and one of Ezra’s shirts.  _ Ezra. _ The shirt, the sheets, the room—it all smelled like him. He felt the blonde’s arm, still wrapped around his middle. Ezra was breathing gently, his lips and nose pressed against the back of Crowley’s neck.

The redhead gave Ezra’s hand a gentle squeeze and the blonde began to stir. He removed his arm from around Crowley’s torso and rolled onto his back. Crowley rolled over so that he was now laying on his right side, facing Ezra. Crowley propped himself up on one elbow and Ezra smiled up at him, yawning. 

“Morning,” Ezra said quietly. 

Crowley leaned down and kissed him, just a quick peck on the lips, then pulled away. He winced.

“Are you alright?”

“Got a bit of a headache,” Crowley admitted, laying back against his pillow. 

It was Ezra’s turn to roll onto his side and prop himself up on an elbow. He pushed a few stray locks of Crowley’s hair away from his face and gazed at him, sympathetically. He smoothed a hand over Crowley’s forehead and leaned down to place a kiss on his right temple. 

“Why don’t I get you a glass of water?” he murmured, sliding out of bed.

Crowley watched him go, smiling fondly as the blonde quietly pulled on his bathrobe and walked out of the bedroom. A few moments later, Ezra returned with a glass of water. He handed it to Crowley, who gratefully took a sip. He tangled a few fingers in Crowley’s hair and gave him another kiss on the forehead. Ezra then began to rub little circles in Crowley’s scalp with his fingertips, smiling as the redhead closed his eyes and hummed appreciatively. He kissed Crowley’s lips before turning to leave the room once more. He thought about the events of last night.  _ Perhaps there was another way to tell Crowley how he felt. _

“Where are you going?” Crowley called.

He winced again and decided that talking any louder than necessary was a bad idea for the time being. 

“You need breakfast,” Ezra replied from the kitchen.

“It’s New Year’s day, though,” Crowley said a little more quietly. “I don’t think there’ll be many places open.”

“That’s why  _ I’m  _ making you breakfast.”

Crowley blinked.  _ Ezra was making him breakfast _ . 

“And don’t even think of getting out of bed,” Ezra added.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No...but I want to.”

And just like that, Crowley knew the discussion was over. He thought about getting out of bed to help, but it was clear that Ezra didn’t want him to. Instead, Crowley propped himself up in bed, sliding a pillow between his back and Ezra’s headboard. Several minutes, many cooking noises, and some delicious smells later, Ezra returned to the bedroom, bearing a tray set with two plates of food and two cups of tea.

“Breakfast in bed,” Crowley mused. “You really are an angel.”

“Oh, hush,” Ezra laughed.

He propped up his pillow and slid his feet under the covers, settling in next to Crowley. They balanced the tray on each of their laps and Crowley gave Ezra a soft kiss on the cheek as the blonde reached over to organize their plates and cups. He had made a simple—but very delicious—breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs, a few strips of bacon, and buttered toast. Crowley’s tea was plain, just the way he liked it, and everything smelled wonderful.

“I love you so much,” Crowley said, his mouth half-full with a bite of scrambled eggs and bacon.

“I think you’re just in love with the food,” Ezra teased.

“That too,” replied Crowley, elbowing him playfully.

They ate their breakfast in comfortable silence and Ezra got up to return the tray to his kitchen once they were finished. When he returned, he slid under the covers again and Crowley wrapped his arms and legs around him, not wanting him to leave. Ezra looped an arm behind Crowley’s head, pulling him even closer. Crowley placed a hand on top of Ezra’s chest, his fingers tracing invisible lines in the fabric of his shirt. The blonde kissed Crowley’s temple and closed his eyes.

“How are you feeling now, dear boy?”

“Better,” Crowley mumbled. “Thanks angel.”

“Of course, Anthony.”

“You take such good care of me Ezra.”

Crowley tilted his head up, waiting for the blonde to open his eyes and make eye contact. Ezra sensed that Crowley was waiting on something and his eyelids fluttered open. When Ezra finally met Crowley’s eyes, the redhead slid his hand up to cup the side of his face. He stared at Ezra intently.

“One day... _ you’ll have to let me take care of you.” _

Ezra bit his lip. _ There had been heat behind those words,  _ a heat Ezra hadn’t felt in a very long time. It started in the center of his chest and spread from there, coursing through the rest of his body until it reached as far down as the tips of his toes. He leaned into Crowley’s touch, already overwhelmed by the implications of what the other man was saying.

“Yes...one day,” he said, his voice hardly a whisper.

_ But not now. Please, I don’t think I can now,  _ he added mentally.  _ It’s too much. _ Crowley’s hand trailed back down, a single finger sliding beneath the neckline of his shirt. Ezra’s breath hitched.

“Anthony, it’s...it’s been a long time,” he hastily admitted. “I love you so much darling, but I don’t know if I…”

Crowley looked at him carefully for a moment, then removed his hand from Ezra’s neck. He let it gently rest on the blonde’s chest once more. He buried his face against Ezra’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, angel,” he murmured. “I’ll wait.”

Ezra felt tears prick at his eyes. He did his best to bury his face in the top of Crowley’s head, but he couldn’t hide the shaky breaths that left his lips. Crowley began rubbing his chest once more, a gentle reminder that he was still there, that he wasn’t going to leave. 

“The truth is Crowley,” Ezra choked out, “no one’s ever been as kind to me as you are. You’re one of the most incredible people I know...I don’t want to ruin anything between us.”

“Is  _ that _ what you’re scared of?” Crowley asked.

After a moment, the blonde nodded his head. Crowley wrapped his arm around Ezra’s chest, holding them together as tightly as he could.

“Listen to me Ezra. You could never ruin anything between us. I love you, okay? So,  _ so  _ much. I want to show you...but if you’re not comfortable with that, then that’s alright. I told you already that we wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want. I meant that.”

“Oh, Anthony...You’re too good to me.”

“No I’m not,” Crowley replied. “I only ever try to meet you halfway.”

Ezra removed his face from Crowley’s hair. The redhead tilted his head up and closed his eyes, inviting Ezra to kiss him. Ezra did, slow and full of passion. A dull ache made its way through his chest as he kissed Crowley. He wanted more, but at the same time he couldn’t stand the weight of it. When they broke away, Crowley slid his hand up to stroke Ezra’s cheek.

“I want to Anthony,” Ezra blurted. “I mean...I  _ do _ want you in that way...I’ve just been foolishly scared. Too scared to tell you.”

“There’s no deadline for this Ezra,” Crowley said quietly.

And in an ironic twist of fate, that only made Ezra want him more. He opened his mouth to speak, but Crowley quieted him.

“Not today, angel,” the redhead said. “We won’t worry about it today, alright?”

Ezra nodded his agreement and pulled Crowley against him, kissing the top of his head. They spent about another half-hour curled up in bed together but eventually, Crowley had to go back to his place, leaving Ezra to do some work around his flat. They shared a grudging kiss goodbye and Ezra found himself staring after Crowley’s Bentley, long after it had disappeared down the street. He spent the rest of the day thinking about Crowley. 

In turn, the redhead spent the entirety of his day thinking about they should do together for their next date. The answer to his problem came while was listening to the radio that evening. There was going to be a meteor shower on the night of the 3rd, and early morning of the 4th in the countryside of Tadfield. Crowley wasted little time in picking up his phone and calling Ezra. The blonde picked up on the second ring.

“Anthony,” he breathed, an audible grin in his voice.

“Hello angel,” Crowley replied. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing just fine...all the better for hearing from you dear.”

Crowley smiled to himself. Though he knew it took a conscious effort, the blonde was rarely this smooth. Crowley realized that he was likely the only person who got to hear Ezra talk like that and his smile grew to a toothy grin.

“Listen, I wanted to propose a date.”

“What kind of date?” Ezra asked.

“Something a bit different than we normally do. No dinner or movie.”

There was a beat of silence as Ezra waited for him to continue.

“Have you ever seen a meteor shower?”

“I have...but it’s been quite a while since I’ve made a point to go see one.”

“Would you like to?” Crowley inquired. “There’s a small village called Tadfield, it’s not too far away. Apparently it’s supposed to be a good spot to view the meteor shower this year.”

“I think that could be fun,” Ezra remarked. “Would we just go to a park there?”

Crowley swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

“Actually...I was thinking we could drive off the main road somewhere, get a nice view of the sky away from the lights of the village.”

On his end of the line, Ezra was very quiet. 

“You mean...away from other people...just the two of us?” the blonde asked cautiously.

“Yeah...Yeah, that’s what I mean.”

Crowley waited. When the silence became unbearable, he cleared his throat and tried again.

“I mean, if you don’t want to watch a meteor shower, we don’t have to. I know they’re not very—”

“I want to,” Ezra said suddenly.

Crowley stopped.

“You...you want to?”

“Yes. I do,” the blonde insisted. “We could make a night out of it...I can pick you up and we can take my car. It has a sunroof after all.”

“Right,” the redhead managed. “Umm...text me the details? You know, if there’s anything you want me to bring.”

“Of course.”

Another beat of silence passed between them, then Ezra began to laugh. Crowley did too, relief washing over him as he realized he hadn’t scared Ezra off.

“I love you angel.”

“I love you too my dear...I’ll see you for the meteor shower.”

Crowley hung up the phone, still grinning like an idiot. Meanwhile, Ezra began to pace back and forth a little bit in his flat. Not a nervous sort of pace, an  _ excited  _ one. In two day’s time he and Crowley would get to spend another night together, and it would be different than any other they’d shared. Ezra couldn’t think of a more romantic scene than the one tha was to come: just him, his love, and a beautiful night sky...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I a terrible person for dragging this out? I AM a terrible person for dragging this out!
> 
> But if you liked this chapter, then you should definitely stick around for the next one! I will have the next part ready to go by 09-19, I promise.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	16. Beneath the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra and Crowley finally have their little meteor shower date...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say that the comments left on the last couple of chapters were GREAT. Thank you guys so much for reading! I love that you love this story as much as I do.
> 
> That being said, I probably ought to issue a brief warning that this chapter is the reason why this fic gets its rating...
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy!

It was a chilly night, but Ezra had wisely brought a couple of blankets with him, as well as a thermos of hot cocoa and a tin of cookies for them to munch on. They had decided to curl up in the back of Ezra’s car. After all, it had a sunroof that would let them watch the meteor shower comfortably from the back seat. Ezra had decided to play it ultra-comfortable, wearing a pair of sweatpants, an old long-sleeved shirt, and a warm jacket. Crowley wore a pair of jeans, a thick sweater, and a long scarf.

They each had a blanket, and Ezra was sitting behind the driver’s seat, leaning against the door, with Crowley laying on the backseat beside him. Ezra held Crowley’s head and shoulders in his lap, his fingers occasionally running through Crowley’s hair, which danced a sparkling, wild red in the pale moonlight. Crowley had his eyes closed, content to rest in Ezra’s lap as the blonde watched the meteor shower. A small, twinkling mass flew across the sky, directly overhead and Ezra let out a small gasp.

“That was a big one,” he murmured.

Crowley hummed his agreement despite not actually seeing the star and slowly blinked his eyes open. For a moment, he just laid there, his feet propped on the edge of the seat towards the passenger’s side, his knees drawn up. Crowley stared up at Ezra, studying the man’s features the same way Ezra was currently studying the sky. After a moment, Ezra realized Crowley was looking at him. He glanced down at the redhead and smiled.

“This was a wonderful idea,” he said, cupping Crowley’s face with one of his hands.

“I thought it would be rather relaxing,” Crowley replied, turning his head to kiss Ezra’s fingers.

“And rather romantic. Just you, me, and the stars.”

“That too,” Crowley smiled. 

He gazed up at Ezra, his beautiful amber eyes shining beneath the gentle starlight. Ezra’s hand slid down to his chest.

“Thank you, dear,” the blonde whispered.

“Anything for you, angel.”

“Oh, you old silly.”

“I mean it,” Crowley said, sitting up. “ _ Anything _ .” 

He leaned over and kissed Ezra. Slow at first, but then with rapidly building passion. The shorter man moaned against his lips, wrapping his arms around Crowley’s neck. Crowley boldly slid his tongue over Ezra’s bottom lip, asking for more, and Ezra gladly gave it. As their tongues danced together, he got hints of cocoa and cookies and Ezra’s own natural taste, letting his hands wrap around Ezra’s waist, firmly pulling the other man against him. The blonde’s fingers tangled in Crowley’s thick, red hair, savoring every moment.

Ezra hadn’t expected their kiss to grow so heated so quickly. He felt giddy all over as Crowley’s hands began to slide down to his hips, fingers digging into him through his clothes. He let out a small gasp against the redhead’s lips as Crowley began to tug at him, pulling him further away from the anchor of the rear driver’s side door. Instinctively, Ezra wound his arms tighter around Crowley’s neck, clinging to him for some semblance of support as the taller man dragged him ever closer, only stopping when their legs were pressed against each other. When they both pulled away for air, Crowley reached over and playfully grabbed hold of Ezra’s far leg, slipping his hand under the blonde’s knee. 

“Anthony? What are you—”

He was cut off by another kiss. Crowley nibbled at his bottom lip, still pulling Ezra closer and closer. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but Ezra found himself facing the other way and sliding onto Crowley’s lap, the redhead guiding his thighs so that they straddled Crowley’s own. Ezra quickly unwound his arms from Crowley’s neck in favor of bracing himself against the back seat, a hand placed on either side of Crowley’s shoulders. Ezra tried to lean back, keeping a space—however small—between them, but Crowley was having none of it. He encircled Ezra’s waist with his arms, trapping the blonde in his lap.

“Anthony,  _ please, _ ” Ezra said, an unintentional whine creeping into his voice.

“Are you uncomfortable?” Crowley asked, looking up at him intently.

Ezra’s blonde curls just brushed against the roof of the car. Had either of them been any taller, this whole setup would have been rather awkward if not entirely impossible. Ezra was the perfect height for Crowley to hold him in his lap, allowing the redhead perfect access to his neck, and when leaning down, the top of his chest. 

“Well, no…” the blonde trailed off.

He squirmed a little and Crowley released his waist. Crowley gently took Ezra’s face in both of his hands, meeting his eyes carefully.

“Don’t lie,” he said quietly. “If you don’t want to do this, I’ll understand.”

“It...It’s not that I don’t want to,” Ezra mumbled.

“Then what is it?”

Ezra bit his lip nervously. His blue eyes darted away for a moment.

“I’m—I’m not too... _ heavy  _ for you...am I?”

“Absolutely not.”

Ezra wasn’t convinced. After a moment, Crowley gave a quick wiggle, causing the blonde to look at him—in shock, if nothing else. 

“I want this Ezra,” Crowley said. “I want  _ you. _ I want you just like this, where I can feel every little move you make. Every breath—I want that too.”

_ “Oh, Anthony.” _

“I want to hear you say it too,” Crowley whispered, leaning in close. “I want to hear that you want this.”

Crowley stared up at him, waiting for Ezra to meet his eyes once more. After what could have been seconds or hours—Crowley didn’t know which—Ezra locked eyes with him. His lips parted in surprise, and as much as the redhead wanted to lunge forwards, claiming those perfect, soft pink lips with his own, he didn’t. He waited for Ezra’s reply, his hands still resting on either side of the blonde’s face. Crowley wouldn’t move, not until Ezra gave him what he needed. Finally, the shorter man swallowed hard and opened his lips to speak.

“I want this Anthony,” he whispered. “I want  _ you. _ I want you more than anything.”

Crowley knew it might have been a little cruel to tease Ezra, but he simply couldn’t help himself.

“Show me?” he asked, his lips quirking into a grin.

Ezra moved in to slowly close the distance between them, his hands sliding around Crowley’s neck once more. His fingers carded through Crowley’s hair at the base of his skull, tracing little patterns against his scalp. He moved slowly, almost painfully slow—but Crowley let him take his time. The redhead’s eyelids fluttered shut and he felt Ezra’s lips on his own. The kiss was gentle and chaste at first, but it quickly turned hungry as the blonde moaned against his lips. It took them a while to work back up to the intensity they’d had before, but soon, Crowley felt Ezra begin to melt into him, their torsos brushing against each other several times before eventually falling flush together.

Crowley steadily allowed his touch to become more eager, more  _ possessive. _ He pressed his hands into the small of Ezra’s back, causing the blonde to arch into him. Ezra moaned again, delighted at the feeling of being so  _ close  _ to Crowley. He was starting to positively  _ cling _ to Crowley, his arms wrapped tightly around the redhead’s neck, using him like a tether, the only thing to keep him grounded as Crowley began paying less attention to Ezra’s lips and more attention to the skin on his neck.

It had been Crowley’s goal since he first got the blonde onto his lap—gaining perfect access to his boyfriend’s neck. Ezra still wore the marks of their New Year’s celebration at the base of his neck. The bruises had started to fade, but the skin there was very sensitive. Crowley only had to ghost his lips over the skin there to make Ezra squirm against him—another thing Crowley loved. With the blonde on his lap, Crowley could feel every little squirm and wiggle he pulled from Ezra’s body. He watched as Ezra leaned back, panting. In the dim starlight, Crowley could see the blonde’s lips had turned a deep red.

A thought suddenly struck Crowley—a  _ grand  _ idea. He grinned, leaning in. Crowley waited for Ezra to make eye contact with him once more. Suddenly, the redhead furrowed his brows in mock surprise and glanced up at the open sunroof.

“What was that?” he muttered in a somewhat melodramatic tone.

Unfortunately—or fortunately for Crowley—Ezra was a little too focused on Crowley to understand that the redhead was up to something.

“What was what?” Ezra asked.

Without a second thought, the blonde tilted his head back, trying to stare up at the night sky through the sunroof.  _ Crowley’s little ruse had worked. _ He wasted no time in diving forward, pressing his lips against the center of Ezra’s throat. Ezra let out a strangled cry, grabbing desperately at the front of Crowley’s sweater. 

“ _ Oh! _ Oh, you...you  _ wicked _ thing,” Ezra managed as Crowley started to suck at the skin just below his adam’s apple.

In spite of himself, Crowley started to laugh, chuckling at the way Ezra weakly tried to reprimand him, the way Ezra was  _ writhing _ in his lap with shock and pleasure. 

“You like it though, don’t you?” he panted against the blonde’s skin.

Ezra gave a small whimper at that.

_ “Don’t you, angel?” _

“Yes, yes I do,” Ezra breathed, his eyes screwed shut as Crowley continued sucking at his neck.

His fingers scratched at Crowley’s scalp, tugging his hair. The redhead turned his attention to the sweet spot at the base of Ezra’s neck, and Ezra pulled his hair a little harder, getting Crowley’s complete and undivided attention. He leaned back and stared up at Ezra, his eyes blown wide with desire. Crowley glanced down and realized that their blankets had drifted towards the floorboards.  _ He thought about a few things that could join the blankets.  _ Crowley slid his hands between their torsos, fingers resting on the zipper of Ezra’s jacket. 

He slowly unzipped the blonde’s jacket, giving Ezra time to tell him no, to ask him to stop. A single word and Crowley would have, but Ezra didn’t say a thing. Instead, he shrugged out of the jacket and gently grabbed ahold of Crowley’s hands and guided them towards the bottom of his shirt. The redhead couldn’t help himself but stare up at Ezra, the implication of what they were doing hitting him all at once like a slap across the face.

_ Sure, it was what Crowley had been hoping for.  _ He’d be lying if he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind before—of course it had! Ezra was smart and charming, funny and handsome in his own quiet way. Of course Crowley thought about slipping the blonde out of his clothes, but to actually be doing it…

“Are you sure?” he whispered, fingers just barely grasping the material of Ezra’s shirt.

“As sure as ever…Please Anthony,” Ezra said, squeezing Crowley’s hands for emphasis. “Please, I want this. I want your hands on me.”

Crowley slid his hands under the fabric of the blonde’s shirt, trailing his fingers up Ezra’s stomach and chest, desperate to free the skin that hid beneath his shirt. Crowley tugged the shirt off over Ezra’s head, letting it join the blankets and jacket on the floor. Ezra leaned back for a moment, allowing Crowley to take in the sight of his bare torso. He was all broad, sloping curves and warm skin. A single squeeze to one of his shoulders gave evidence of a strength his gentle, tweed-bow-tie-wearing demeanor belied.

Crowley let his hands travel over every inch of newly bared skin, his fingers roving hungrily over the blonde’s chest and ribs, his hips and stomach. Crowley wanted to memorize it, the feel of his skin and way every slight brush of his fingertips made Ezra squirm and moan. Suddenly, Ezra shivered, goosebumps appearing on his arms and neck.

“A bit cold are we?” Crowley smirked.

“Perhaps.”

The redhead let his index finger gently circle one of Ezra’s nipples, hard to the touch. Something told Crowley that the cold wasn’t entirely to blame for that development.

“Don’t worry angel,” he purred, leaning closer. “I’ll keep you warm.”

“You better,” Ezra whispered in a stroke of boldness.

It was all Crowley could do not to tear the seams of his own sweater as he reached for it, desperate to get out of it. Crowley marvelled at Ezra’s voice, that barely audible voice that somehow managed to hold all kinds of pent up desire, giving words to everything Crowley had ever felt. He realized he would do anything to hear it again. He would do anything if it meant he got to keep touching Ezra, and when Crowley’s sweater fell to the floorboards, he would do anything just to keep Ezra touching  _ him _ . The cold air made his skin tingle, and Ezra’s hands felt burning-hot in comparison. All at once, Crowley wrapped his arms around Ezra’s back, pulling the blonde flush up against him, their naked chests and stomachs meeting. 

The contrast between warm skin and cold, night air was almost unbearable. Ezra shivered again as Crowley’s lips found their way to his neck once more, then to his shoulder. The blonde laced his fingers in Crowley’s hair, encouraging him with soft tugs and not-so-soft moans. Crowley craned his neck down, trying to kiss and suck at the blonde’s collarbones and chest, but there was only so far Crowley could reach in the back seat of the car. Even so, Ezra enjoyed every second of it. He wrapped his legs a little tighter around the other man, afraid to lose the contact between them. Crowley pulled away to look at Ezra, his golden eyes sparkling with heat.

His hands dropped down to rest on the tops of Ezra’s thighs. Slowly, carefully, Crowley slid his hands up higher until they met with the waistband of Ezra’s sweatpants,  _ and perhaps the greatest sign of his arousal. _ The blonde drew in a shaky breath. 

“And to think we’d spend the night watching stars,” he managed.

“You can still watch the stars, angel,” Crowley replied.

_ He would find a way to make this perfect.  _ Without further notice, Crowley twisted to the side, attempting to lay Ezra down on the back seat. It would have been a very romantic gesture, had he not accidentally underestimated the amount of space needed to accomplish this task. Crowley moved a little too quickly, effectively bumping Ezra’s head against the door on his way down. 

“ _ Ouch! _ ” the blonde cried, a hand reflexively going to the back of his head.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Crowley apologized quickly, pressing several kisses to Ezra’s forehead. 

Ezra tried to settle in as best as he could, one foot awkwardly pressed against the window, the other dangling off the side of the back seat. Crowley glanced down and tried to situate himself over the blonde a little more comfortably. His one knee had managed to slip dangerously high between Ezra’s legs. Had it landed a couple inches higher, it would have brought the entire evening to a halt. It was easy to apologize for a bumped head. It was not so easy to apologize for a kneed crotch.

Crowley’s other knee was balanced precariously on the edge of the back seat. It was a very fortunate thing that Crowley was as skinny as he is, otherwise staying in place would have been a major challenge. It was  _ unfortunate _ , however, that Crowley was as tall as he is. He had to mind his head so as not to whack it into the same part of the door that Ezra had, and his legs...Those were a different problem altogether. Crowley tried—and very hard at that—to get his torso flush with Ezra’s again, but every attempt left him with an arm or a leg dangling off the edge of the seat. He was beginning to grow frustrated.

Ezra realized that Crowley was having a bit of trouble, so he sought to relax him. He knew Crowley wanted things to be good for him, but he wanted Crowley to enjoy himself too. The blonde decided to kiss at his jaw and cheeks, trailing his fingernails along Crowley’s sides. Ezra experimentally scratched at Crowley’s ribs and the redhead shivered, letting out a breathy moan.  _ He liked that. _ Ezra did it again, a little more firmly, letting his fingers sink into the skin along Crowley’s back and shoulders this time. The blonde slowly slid his hands back down, his nails just ghosting over the skin at the top of Crowley’s hips playfully. Crowley’s body seemed to jerk forward at that.

_ “Fuck!” _ he hissed. Followed by:  _ “Angel!” _

The blonde suddenly dragged his nails along Crowley’s ribs. The redhead shuddered from head to toe before feeling one of his knees—the one that happened to be doing most of the work of supporting him, go figure—give out. Quite unexpectedly, Crowley ended up finally flopping down on top of Ezra. His forehead smacked into Ezra’s chin and they each let out yelps of surprise. To make matters worse, Crowley’s knees had ended up ramming against the rear driver’s side door, adding to his discomfort. He cursed, hissing through clenched teeth and Ezra ran his hands over Crowley’s back. 

“Are you alright?” the blonde asked quietly.

“I’m fine,” Crowley mumbled. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, darling. I didn’t...I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Crowley drew himself up to look at Ezra, his elbows clumsily finding purchase on the seat beneath them. 

“No, of course not!”

“Are you sure, Anthony? I thought maybe you didn’t like me using my nails.”

“Are you kidding?” Crowley grinned. “I  _ love _ that.”

“Then...can I do it again?”

Crowley pressed himself into Ezra a little more firmly at that, their hips sliding together. In an instant, they could each feel the other’s arousal. Ezra let out a surprised gasp, grabbing at Crowley’s sides. His nails scratched at the redhead’s sides once more and Crowley moaned. They were both still clothed from the waist down, but that didn’t stop him from slowly rutting his hips against Ezra’s, delighting in the pleasure that helped balance out some of his pain. Despite it all, the blonde was grinning to himself, laughing almost.

“What is it?” Crowley asked, still continuing the lazy rock of his hips.

“Nothing. Just…” Ezra trailed off, smiling even deeper.

“What?”

“I feel a bit like a lovesick teenager, you know? Having an encounter in the back seat of a car?”

Crowley chortled at that. He wasn’t sure if it was at Ezra’s use of the word “lovesick,” or “encounter.” 

“Not teenagers anymore, are we?” Crowley mused, leaning in to kiss Ezra.

“No,” the blonde agreed. “Otherwise I don’t think I’d hurt so much.”

They both chuckled at that and Crowley planted a firm kiss on Ezra’s lips. Crowley shifted his weight, placing a knee on either side of Ezra’s right leg, the one that had been leaning against the backrest of the seats. He lowered himself down as best he could, moving carefully in the cramped space of the back seat.  _ It was starting to feel cold. _ The January air began to sting at Crowley’s back, causing him to press his chest against Ezra’s, searching for warmth.

Crowley pressed another enthusiastic kiss to the blonde’s neck, then stretched up, sealing their lips together once more. Ezra made a content noise, his hands grasping at Crowley. Crowley wasn’t sure how much longer either of them could stand this, but he was also afraid to undress any further what with the goosebumps that now covered his back. The redhead hadn’t even noticed he was shivering until Ezra said something.

“Are you alright, Anthony?”

“I’m  _ great, _ ” he murmured, pressing another kiss into Ezra’s skin. “Just a little chilly.”

Ezra let his left hand fall to the floor, fingers feeling among the bottom of the car until they found what they were looking for. With a little effort, the blonde managed to pull one of their blankets over Crowley’s back, tucking it along the backrest of the seat so it would stay in place. The redhead nuzzled Ezra appreciatively before letting one of his hands slide dangerously low on blonde’s stomach. Ezra gave a small shudder, quickly grabbing onto Crowley’s sides once more, his fingernails scraping against the other man’s skin.

“Still ought to warm  _ you _ up though,” Crowley said quietly.

If it were possible, Ezra held onto him a little tighter. Crowley kissed the blonde’s jaw before letting his fingers slide into the waistband of Ezra’s sweatpants.

“May I?” he asked. 

Ezra nodded.

“Need to hear you say it angel.”

“Yes,” Ezra replied, voice barely above a whisper. 

Crowley kissed him again before slipping his hand inside the front of Ezra’s pants. The redhead’s fingers hardly made any progress when Ezra inhaled sharply through clenched teeth.

“What is it?” Crowley asked, stilling his hand immediately.

“It’s just…well, darling. Your fingers are  _ really _ cold...It sort of hurts.”

Crowley hummed his understanding, quickly removing his hand from Ezra’s sweatpants. He tilted his head further to the side, letting his cheek rest against Ezra’s. 

“Can you still see the stars?” the redhead whispered.

“Yes,” Ezra answered after a moment. “But...why?”

He could feel Crowley smile against his skin.

“You just enjoy the view, angel. I’ll find a way to take care of you yet. I promise.”

“ _ Oh...Anthony _ .”

Without another word, Crowley pressed a kiss against Ezra’s head. He slowly trailed his hand back down until it rested on the front of Ezra’s pants. He listened as the blonde let out a small gasp. Crowley waited a moment, then he began to move his hand, palming at Ezra through the fabric of his sweatpants. The blonde let out a low moan, dragging his nails along Crowley’s sides and back. His hands eventually stretched all the way down to rest on Crowley’s hips.

Ezra squeezed and tugged at the redhead’s hips. He kissed and nuzzled and moaned, wordlessly coaxing Crowley to seek out his own pleasure. Crowley kept his knees planted on either side of one of Ezra’s legs, carefully dropping himself down onto the blonde. Slowly, Crowley rocked his hips forward, pressing himself into the top of Ezra’s thigh. The blonde let out an encouraging noise, his fingers briefly squeezing at Crowley’s hips a final time before sliding back up to his shoulders.

Ezra wrapped his arms around Crowley’s neck and gazed up at the stars through the sunroof above them. He watched the bright glittering trails of meteors being set ablaze the instant they met with Earth’s atmosphere. He couldn’t imagine a more beautiful night. He moaned Crowley’s name and buried his face against the redhead’s shoulder. Crowley began to make small noises of enjoyment, himself—little moans and pants of pleasure as he gradually quickened the rock of his hips.

If you’d asked him before, Ezra wouldn’t have given much thought to having sex like this. Truth is, he probably wouldn’t have even considered it really having sex. The idea of someone groping at him through his pants didn’t really appeal to him, much less seem to be something he could get off on. It was the sort of thing horny teenagers did when their parents weren’t home, but with Crowley, it was different. They’d had plenty of seemingly juvenile experiences in their relationship thus far.

They’d had sloppy make out sessions on each other’s sofas, in the back seats of their cars.  _ What was so different about this? _ It wasn’t that they were inexperienced per se, or that they couldn’t find the time or privacy to do things a more sophisticated way, it just happened to be the way things went. And frankly, Ezra  _ liked _ it. True, he wasn’t a teenage boy anymore, but he’d meant what he said earlier: Crowley made him feel like one. He was eager to run his hands over Crowley’s skin and feel the redhead trail kisses all over his body, eager to please Crowley and be pleased  _ by _ him. It was much more than the sweaty fumblings of his youth.  _ With Crowley there was love.  _

“Anthony, my—my dearest Anthony,” he panted. 

“Are you alright?” Crowley managed, his voice hoarse.

“Yes...Please, don’t—”

“Don’t what? Do I need to stop?”

His movements seemed to slow for a split second, and Ezra couldn’t bear the thought of it.

“Don’t— _ Don’t stop _ ,” he cried, pressing into Crowley’s touch.

And Crowley didn’t. In fact, he quickened his pace, beads of sweat forming on his brow despite the cold that surrounded them. His hand rubbed against the front of Ezra’s pants a little more firmly and the blonde squirmed. His breath caught at the back of his throat and his heart threatened to beat out of his skin. Sparks literally flew overhead in the clear night sky as the heat that had pooled in the pit of Ezra’s stomach seemed to drop even lower. He frantically grabbed Crowley’s face with both of his hands, tilting the other man’s head so that their foreheads touched. Ezra closed his eyes.

“ _ Kiss me _ ,” he breathed.

Crowley’s lips met Ezra’s in a deep, passionate kiss, and sparks flew behind the blonde’s eyelids as he went over the edge, his entire body overcome with an intense pleasure. He moaned into the kiss, his fingernails digging into Crowley’s skin. Crowley dragged his hand back up from the front of Ezra’s pants, sliding it beneath the man’s head. He cradled the blonde in his arms as Ezra rode out the waves of his pleasure. Ezra buried his face in the side of Crowley’s neck, breathing heavily.

“I love you...I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” Crowley replied.

Crowley was  _ right there _ . He was right at the edge and ready to go over. He forced himself against the top of Ezra’s thigh a few more times despite the intensity of the feeling it produced, even through their clothes, and then…

His back arched and Crowley cried out. His knees wobbled as he tried to stretch out in the back of Ezra’s car, his chest heaving. Ezra held him through it all, fingers gently running through his hair and soft voice reminding Crowley to breathe. Crowley settled against Ezra, laying on top of him. The blonde reached for one of the corners of the blanket he’d pulled on top of Crowley, adjusting it so it covered both of them once more. It had gotten a bit skewed amidst their little romp beneath the stars. 

They slowly caught their breath and their heart rates returned to normal. Ezra caressed Crowley’s head and shoulders, his fingers rubbing mindless circles in the redhead’s skin. They quietly basked in the afterglow of their adventure together for a while longer. Ezra gently kissed Crowley’s forehead and smiled contentedly.

“That was lovely, my dear,” he whispered.

“Good,” Crowley chuckled. 

He then shifted himself so that he could look Ezra in the eyes.

“It wasn’t too much, was it?”

“No, no,” the blonde assured him. “It was... _ perfect _ .”

Crowley made a face.

“I whacked your head, head butted you, and nearly brought the evening to an end with my cold hands. Not exactly what I’d consider  _ perfect, _ angel.”

“Fine,” Ezra conceded. “Perfect for us, then.”

They both chuckled quietly at that and Crowley gently leaned down to kiss the blonde’s lips. There was no flaming heat anymore, just soft, content warmth. Ezra reached up and tucked a few strands of Crowley’s hair back behind his ears. He smiled at the redhead, then let out a satisfied hum. 

“What do you say we go back to my place and get cleaned up?”

“If we  _ have _ to,” Crowley replied, faking a sigh.

“We really ought to...Besides, I’ll make you some tea. Maybe let you curl up on me somewhere a little more comfortable than the back seat of a car?” the blonde offered.

_ And how could Crowley say ‘no’ to that? _

  
They drove back to Ezra’s flat and each took a quick shower. Ezra changed into his pajamas, offering Crowley a set to wear to bed as well. The blonde admired the way Crowley looked, wearing his clothes, even if they were a bit large for him. Ezra made each of them a cup of tea as promised, and they slid into bed just before the first lazy rays of sunlight could break through the curtains. Ezra wrapped his arms around Crowley, holding them together as tightly as possible. They fell asleep that way, sharing a pillow while their feet lazily tangled together beneath the blankets. Ezra smiled to himself, planting a final kiss on Crowley’s forehead. _And he couldn’t remember ever feeling happier..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I finally done teasing you guys? 
> 
> Nope! The next chapter will uploaded by 09-23, I'm still sticking to my twice a week updates.
> 
> Oh, and by the way...I will probably be bumping up the rating from Mature to Explicit within the next few updates. Make of that what you will...


	17. A New Semester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The holiday season has come to an end, and Ezra and Crowley must go back to work. Let's see what surprises this new semester has in store for them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this update is gonna be shorter that some of my previous ones, and I apologize for that. I tried to make up for it with some fluffiness...
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

If Crowley were to describe his latest semester at the University of London in one word, he probably would have used the word  _ exciting. _ There were loads of exciting new developments that semester and Crowley could hardly contain his enthusiasm over it all. For starters, he would be working with a student instructor for one of his courses. Both he and Ezra would, actually. Crowley had been paired up with a young computer science major who, strangely enough, didn’t seem all that great with computers. Crowley had tried letting the young man look at some of the lesson plans he’d typed up on his computer, only to watch as a single keyboard stroke on the lad’s part caused the computer to crash.

And it wasn’t just computers that his student instructor, a young Newton Pulsifer, seemed to struggle with. As Crowley would learn, the boy seemed to have negative effects on all technology he touched. One morning, Newton had attempted to turn on the projector in Crowley’s classroom, but as soon as he touched the button to turn it on, the projector’s light bulb burst with a loud, shattering  _ pop! _ Luckily, the young man didn’t seem to have any ill effects on dry-erase markers or whiteboards, both of which became his primary tools of instruction. 

That had been yesterday. Today, however, Crowley had too many other things on his mind to be concerned about technological mishaps. He’d just send an email to the tech support office and have them take care of the problem, it was what they got paid for, after all. No, today Crowley was focused on something far more important.  _ He was thinking about a phone call.  _ He sat in the chair behind his desk, staring at the black landline sitting to his right. 

He drummed his fingers on the desk nervously, still staring at the phone as if his concentration could force the phone to ring sooner. Just when Crowley was about to give up on waiting and turn his attention to something else, the phone began to ring. He stared at for a moment, his eyes wide. After letting the phone ring twice, Crowley quickly picked it up and held it to his ear.

“This is Professor Crowley,” he said, trying not to let his throat close up on him.

“Good morning, Anthony,” a friendly voice said on the other end of the line. “Are you free right the moment?”

“Uh. Sure! What is it?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’ve looked over your request form for an additional maths course,” the voice said.

Crowley swallowed. He waited for a moment.

“That’s good,” he managed. “Is...is that all?”

There was a beat of silence, then:

“I’ve decided to tentatively approve it.”

Crowley nearly fell backwards out of his chair. He scrambled to support himself against the desk in front of him, a joyous grin breaking out on his face.

“You mean you..Really? You did?”

“Of course! It’s a splendid idea Anthony, it really is. I know we offer an applied statistics course for the sciences, but I think offering a class that will cover more than just that could be very helpful. Not to mention, it could certainly tie in with some of our research projects. You could get students from several different disciplines working together.”

For a moment, Crowley didn’t know what to say. Eventually, he decided on:

“Thank you...Thank you Professor Nutter, it means a lot to me.”

“But of course,” Agnes replied, smiling on her end of the line.

She finished relaying everything Crowley would need to do to get the course ready for the fall semester and congratulated him a final time before hanging up the phone. On his end, Crowley tentatively placed the phone back in its receiver, his hand trembling slightly.  _ He couldn’t believe it. He’d done it. He’d actually done it! _ The redhead glanced around his office for a moment, looking for something to do, some way to celebrate. In an instant, a particular natural science professor flashed across his mind, and Crowley was getting up from his chair, making a mad dash for the office next door.

He didn’t even stop to think if Ezra would be there, or what he would be busy doing if he was in office—but then, Crowley didn’t really care. He  _ had _ to share this good news with Ezra, he simply  _ had  _ to. When he found that Ezra’s office door was unlocked, Crowley wasted no time in knocking or announcing his presence. He merely turned the handle and let himself in, grinning like a madman. Upon entering, the first thing Crowley noticed was that Ezra was not alone. A young woman was standing next to him at his desk, looking at something on the blonde’s desktop. They had been talking quietly, but fell silent as soon as Crowley entered the room. 

She wore glasses and a long blue skirt that seemed to oddly complement Ezra’s old-fashioned style of dress. She had long dark hair and a warm, intense gaze. The second thing Crowley noticed was that Ezra was wearing his circular reading glasses, they were perched delicately on the tip of his nose. Crowley liked how Ezra looked with his glasses on. They were charming and quirky, a perfect accessory for an equally charming and quirky man. Crowley’s smile softened reflexively at the sight of Ezra in his glasses. 

“Anthony?” the blonde asked, pulling Crowley out of his own head. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh yeah,” Crowley replied. “Everything’s great.”

He glanced at the young woman, then back at Ezra. The natural sciences professor seemed to understand what Crowley was getting at.

“Ah. Where are my manners?” Ezra murmured to himself, getting to his feet. “Anthony, this is Anathema, my new student instructor.”

Anathema extended a hand to Crowley. 

“Anathema, this is my—er—colleague, Professor Anthony Crowley. His office is right next door.”

The two of them shook hands and Crowley grinned at her.

“Good to meet you Anathema,” he said. “If Ezra here ever starts to get on your nerves you can always pop over to my office. I’m sure Newt won’t mind if you take his chair.”

She laughed politely at that and glanced back at Ezra, only to find that the blonde was now completely interested in their new guest. 

“Is he your student instructor?” he asked Crowley.

“He is...Don’t tell him I said this, but the boy’s rubbish with technology. Did I tell you he broke my projector?”

“You didn’t,” Ezra replied, a look of surprise on his face.

“Well, he did. Just turned the thing on and the lightbulb in it burst. Nearly gave everyone in the first two rows a heart attack!”

They both chuckled a little at that. Suddenly, Ezra remembered that they weren’t alone. He turned his attention back to Anathema, an apologetic expression on his face.

“I’m so sorry to be ignoring you, my dear,” he told her.

“It’s alright,” Anathema responded. “You already answered the questions I had, anyway.”

She glanced at them for a moment, then smiled to herself. It was a smile that was not so much suspicious as it was  _ knowing. _ Without another word, she collected her things from Ezra’s desk and nodded at the two men politely.

“I’ll just be going...I have some other things I need to take care of.”

“Oh! Well, alright then,” Ezra stammered, trying his hardest not to look too pleased that he was suddenly being left alone with Crowley. “I’ll see you later, Anathema.”

“See you later, Professor Fell.”

With that, Anathema slid out of Ezra’s office, closing the door behind her. She set off down the hallway, her thoughts turning the student instructor that Crowley had mentioned. She really ought to get to know him. If their professors were so close, the two of them would be spending a decent amount of time around each other…

Back in Ezra’s office, the blonde was still wearing his reading glasses, glancing at Crowley over their rims. He was leaned against the side of his desk, his arms folded comfortably over his chest in amusement. He watched as Crowley slid off his sunglasses, placing them on the other side of the desk. The redhead was grinning broadly now, and Ezra couldn’t help himself but smile too. 

“You seem very happy today,” the blonde observed. “Something happen?”

Crowley nodded. He took a seat in the chair in front of Ezra’s desk, leaning back in it. He waited until Ezra slid around to the front of the desk, standing directly in front of him. They were close enough that Crowley’s knees brushed against the front of Ezra’s legs, but there was a familiarity to it. The redhead smiled up at Ezra, reaching out for the other man’s hands. Ezra gently took Crowley’s hands in his own, his curiosity entirely unmasked. Crowley was acting strangely, but if he was  _ this  _ happy, then something good must be to blame.

“Do you remember that class I put in for last semester?” Crowley asked at last.

“I think so...Remind me?”

“The math course for science majors, applied maths for the life sciences.”

“Oh! Yes, I do remember that, but…Anthony, didn’t they turn you down?”

Crowley’s grin grew even wider.

“Well, Dr. Hastur did. But I just got a call from Professor Nutter this morning.”

Ezra was beginning to understand where this was going.

“And?” he asked.

“And she said yes!”

The blonde broke into a full-fledged grin, squeezing Crowley’s hands for emphasis as he leaned forward, daring to give Crowley a proper kiss while they were at work. They had decided they didn’t want a repeat of last semester’s “snogging incident,” if they could avoid it, so they tried to keep their relationship under wraps while they were on campus as much as possible. However, that wasn’t to say the rules couldn’t be bent for special occasions, and this was certainly one of them.

“Anthony, that’s wonderful!” Ezra exclaimed, giving Crowley a kiss on his forehead. “When will you start?”

“Well, this semester I’ll just be working on the course material itself, but Agnes wants to have everything ready to go by the end of the school year, that way students can start taking the course next fall.”

“Oh...That doesn’t leave you with a lot of time, does it?”

“Not as much as I’d like,” Crowley admitted, “but I’ll get it done. I’ve already worked on some stuff for it, I just need to get everything in a professional-looking format.”

Ezra released Crowley’s hands in favor of affectionately brushing a lock of stray hair away from the redhead’s face. 

“I’m sure whatever you put together will be  _ fantastic, _ dear.”

Crowley nuzzled against Ezra’s hand at that, preening under his boyfriend’s attention. He glanced up at Ezra to find the blonde was laughing quietly to himself.

“What’s so funny?” 

“Oh, nothing,” Ezra replied. “I was just thinking about something you said to me, my first week working here.”

The redhead quirked an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly as Ezra withdrew his hand, chasing after the blonde’s touch. He did his best not to look disappointed when Ezra’s hands disappeared into his trouser pockets. 

“You told me that after years of working hard there would be no one to recognize what I’d done and that none of the...I believe you called them ‘higher ups’ would care about my efforts.” 

Crowley adopted a guilty expression.

“Yeah, well...guess I can be wrong.”

“So it seems,” Ezra agreed. “Still, you must have done something right.”

They locked eyes for a moment and Ezra smiled softly at Crowley.

“You didn’t scare me off, did you?”

Crowley’s heart gave a little flutter at that.  _ If Ezra was going to say things like that, he couldn’t just leave Crowley hanging. _ The redhead got to his feet and closed the distance between them, placing a hand on either side of Ezra’s lap, using the desk to support his weight. His face hovered only a couple inches from the blonde’s, their eyes meeting over the rim of Ezra’s glasses. Ezra placed a hand on Crowley’s chest, his smile extending all the way from the corners of his mouth to the fine lines at the corners of his eyes. 

“Look at you,” Ezra said quietly. “I must be dating the smartest man on campus.”

“Angel…”

“But it’s true. You’re so clever, Anthony. I love how clever you are.”

“Ezra,” Crowley complained, a slight blush coloring his cheeks.

The blonde made a soft, tutting noise.

“And so modest too,” Ezra smiled.

_ Well, if Ezra was going to be like that... _ Crowley quickly rid them of the space between their lips, catching Ezra’s mouth in an enthusiastic kiss. The blonde gave a soft, appreciative hum at that, but quickly leaned back, breaking their kiss. 

“Now, now. You didn’t let me finish,” Ezra explained as Crowley stared down at him, wanting nothing more than to feel the blonde’s lips on his own again.

Crowley leaned in once more, a silent gesture that said  _ tell me later,  _ but Ezra stopped him. He took Crowley’s face in both of his hands, allowing them to come close enough together for the tips of their noses to brush against each other, but no further. Crowley gave a small groan of frustration, even if he didn’t really want Ezra to stop. The truth is, he loved receiving so much attention from Ezra and would give whatever kinds of reactions he needed to—feigned irritation or otherwise—to keep Ezra focused on him. 

“I do think you’re the smartest man on campus,” the blonde continued, “but you’re also exceptionally talented.”

The redhead raised an eyebrow at him.

“Am I?”

“Oh yes.”

Ezra tangled a hand in Crowley’s hair, his fingers involuntarily scratching at his scalp. Crowley tensed up for a moment, drawing in a quick breath at the unexpected sensation that so suddenly reminded him of the night they’d spent together in the back of Ezra’s car. He could almost feel it, the way Ezra’s fingertips had tugged at his hair and scratched at his skin. It shocked Crowley, how little it took to completely ruin his resolve.

“Angel,” the redhead gasped.

Ezra smiled at him.

“You’re simply a wonder, Anthony,” he said, giving Crowley a quick peck on the cheek. “I don’t know how you do it.”

Crowley made a low noise and leaned in to kiss Ezra again, but Ezra turned his head to the side, only allowing Crowley to nuzzle against him.

“You do so much here at school...You do so much for me, too.”

“Ezra,  _ please.” _

Crowley heard an unintentional whine creeping into his voice. It was clear Ezra heard it as well. The blonde moved in, fractionally closer, his eyes closing.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” he whispered.

With that, he finally let Crowley kiss him, slow and tender. The redhead moaned into the kiss, his hands going from their place on the desk to Ezra’s hips. He kissed Ezra happily, smiling against the blonde’s lips. When they finally pulled away, breathless, Ezra was laughing quietly.

“I love you, you amazing man,” he said. 

The words sent little sparks of electricity through every inch of Crowley’s body. He took Ezra’s lips in another passionate kiss and when the blonde had to pull away for air, Crowley began to trail kisses along Ezra’s jaw and neck. Ezra wrapped his arms around Crowley’s neck, grinning. 

“I said, ‘I love you’ Anthony.”

Crowley tore himself away from Ezra just long enough to growl out something along the lines of ‘clearly I love you too,’ before pressing another series of kisses to Ezra’s skin. Without warning, he trailed a hand up Ezra’s side before gently sliding a finger along the blonde’s collar. Crowley slipped his index finger behind Ezra’s bow tie and began tugging at it, quickly trying the free the man of it. Ezra made a noise of surprise, his hands pressing against Crowley’s chest.

“Anthony!” he gasped.

“What?” Crowley smirked, enjoying the sudden turn of events.

“Not while we’re at work, love.” 

The redhead pressed another kiss to Ezra’s lips.

“Why not?” he teased.

Ezra sighed, leaning their foreheads together. He bit his lip for a moment, then:

_ “Later, _ ” the blonde said quietly.

He watched as Crowley pulled back, just far enough to look him in the eyes, a mischievous grin on his face. 

“I intend to make good on that promise, angel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked it! 
> 
> I will have the next part ready to go by 09-26, so stick around! I think you'll like what I have planned for the next chapter...


	18. Later...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite their long day at work, Ezra and Crowley wind up back at Ezra's flat. Ezra intends to make good on his promise of "later," from that morning in his office...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's another short chapter but the content more than makes up for it...
> 
> Enjoy!

If Ezra were to describe his second semester at the University of London in one word, that word would likely be  _ exhausting. _ Between classes and meetings and now new student instructors—bright and dedicated as they might be—Ezra was tired. Even so, he intended to make good on his promise to Crowley.  _ Later.  _ The redhead had practically shuddered at the word in Ezra’s office that morning. But after three more lectures, a meeting, and a flat tire on Ezra’s part, they were back at the blonde’s flat, a bottle of wine nearly gone between them. They had lazed about on Ezra’s loveseat, leaned against each other, idly chatting, before finally making their way to Ezra’s bedroom.

They both expressed an immediate desire to put in some time between the sheets, but as soon as heads hit pillows, “sleeping together,” quickly threatened to turn into  _ actually _ sleeping together. Ezra turned out the lights and they laid side by side in comfortable silence. He then adjusted his pillow so that they could lie even closer together, wrapping an arm around Crowley’s middle. Crowley scooted a little closer, his legs tangling with Ezra’s under the covers. For a while, all they did was lay there, eyes closed, their heads leaned together. At some point, Crowley nuzzled against the side of Ezra’s head, his warm breath tickling the blonde’s ear.

Ezra giggled softly, sliding his hand up Crowley’s chest in response, rubbing sleepy circles with his fingers. Though he was still tired, Crowley began to leave little kisses on Ezra’s skin, something the blonde seemed to thoroughly enjoy. Ezra wrapped both of his arms around Crowley and pulled the redhead up against him a little more firmly, holding their bodies together. He pressed a few sleepy kisses to Crowley’s cheeks and chin, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. Crowley chuckled quietly, amused and delighted by the soft, sloppy kisses they gave each other wherever and however they could manage it.

They had both undressed to their socks, boxers and t-shirts, and Crowley loved the feeling of Ezra’s warm skin pressed against his. He wanted more of it, that gentle, cozy sensation, and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. Slowly, being sure not to surprise Ezra, Crowley began to further tangle their arms and legs together, trapping the blonde in his grasp. Ezra hardly seemed to notice as Crowley began to shift so that the redhead was not so much laying  _ next  _ to him, but  _ on top _ of him. The blonde simply let Crowley’s weight and warmth drape over him like a blanket, still showering Crowley’s face and neck and head with increasingly playful kisses. 

Eventually, Crowley started to kiss Ezra’s lips, giving them his full attention. Soft, gentle pecks at first, but soon the redhead was kissing him properly, being spurred on by every little soft moan that escaped Ezra’s lips. Ezra was still a little sleepy, but he was  _ not _ asleep. Crowley could tell as much, even if the blonde didn’t bother to open his eyelids. Ezra kissed him back at a leisurely pace and Crowley was all too happy to keep his movements slow, happy to match Ezra’s slow and steady motions. At some point, Crowley broke away long enough to glance at the small digital clock on Ezra’s nightstand.  _ It had been nearly a half-hour. _

The redhead smiled and leaned in to kiss Ezra again, moving his jaw decidedly slow. Ezra gave another quiet moan and Crowley felt himself grinning into their kiss. He could just picture it, the soft brush of lips and gentle slide of skin on skin. If they chose to, they could keep this up for some time. They could make love into the wee hours of the morning if they wanted to—no rush, nowhere to be, and nothing better to do. Everything Crowley needed was right there with him, there wasn’t an urgency the way there had been the first time. Crowley could take his time, all the time he wanted.

He decided to test the waters by sliding a hand under Ezra’s shirt. The blonde made a surprised noise against Crowley’s lips, but he didn’t try to stop him. Moving as slowly as he could, Crowley slid his hands upwards, pulling Ezra’s shirt up. Maneuvering as carefully as possible, Crowley slipped Ezra out of his shirt, allowing it to fall to the ground beside the bed. He pressed himself against the warmth of the blonde’s newly bared torso, content just to explore the expanses of Ezra’s chest and stomach, his back and sides. Crowley loved all the soft, sleepy moans he pulled from Ezra’s lips by doing so.

Crowley trailed kisses down along Ezra’s bare skin, taking full advantage of being able to stretch out on a bed, his head just dipping beneath the covers as he left several sloppy kisses on Ezra’s collarbones and chest. The blonde was starting to stir, his hands lacing in Crowley’s hair as Crowley continued to shower him with attention. Ezra ran his fingers down Crowley’s back, leisurely grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. He gave a slight tug to the material on Crowley’s left shoulder, and the redhead lifted himself up, understanding what Ezra wanted.

Crowley grabbed one of Ezra’s hands and guided it towards the bottom of his shirt. With all the grace of a man who has been pulled from the brink of sleep—likely because Ezra was, in fact, just that—the blonde managed to pull Crowley’s shirt off before tossing it onto the floor. To the redhead’s surprise, however, Ezra’s hands quickly returned to Crowley’s skin, only this time, they began to stretch further down, grabbing at the waistband of Crowley’s underwear. 

“A-Angel,” Crowley murmured, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

“Sorry,” Ezra drawled, his voice still heavy with the very beginnings of sleep. “Did you not want me to?”

“Well...I didn’t say  _ that. _ ”

He heard the blonde give a soft chuckle at that before reaching down and sliding his fingers into the elastic band of Crowley’s boxers. The redhead took in a sharp breath and Ezra’s hands slid over the sides of his hips, touching skin that Ezra hadn’t touched before. His hands stopped when Ezra couldn’t reach down any further.

“Er...Would you mind…” he trailed off.

Even so, Crowley got the message.

“No, of course not,” he grinned, pressing a kiss to the skin on Ezra’s neck.

With that, Crowley slid himself the rest of the way out of his underwear and dropped them onto the ground. He was completely naked, except for his socks. The newness and excitement of finding himself unclothed in Ezra’s bed did all kinds of funny things to Crowley.

“Thank you,” Ezra mumbled, squeezing Crowley’s hips for emphasis. “And if you could roll over for me while you’re at it.”

Suddenly, Crowley found himself feeling rather awake. He stared at Ezra in the dark of the blonde’s room, unsure how to respond to that. Ezra had essentially given him a direction—not quite a command, but not as subtle as a request either—as if it were the simplest thing in the world. He’d said it the same way he might have said “if you could pass me the salt, dear.” In the dim light provided by the display of Ezra’s bedside clock, Crowley could see that Ezra was looking up at him, his eyes half-closed and expression calm, a vaguely sleepy smile on his face.  _ There was tiniest hint of mischief in it too. _

Crowley felt a slight blush spread over his cheeks and chest as he slowly found himself rolling onto his side, then his back as Ezra guided him down onto the bed. Their chests and stomachs fell flush with each other as Ezra moved so that he was laying on top of Crowley, his face buried in the side of the redhead’s neck. He pressed a few gentle kisses to Crowley’s neck, matching the same level of tenderness Crowley had shown him only a little while earlier. Ezra ran his hands along Crowley’s sides and the redhead let out a soft moan, his back arching reflexively.

“Angel, you don’t...you don’t have to if you’re tired,” he said quietly.

“But I want to,” Ezra replied, nuzzling against Crowley’s ear. “You just got a new class, it’s a great achievement.”

Ezra trailed a few more kisses along Crowley’s neck and shoulders. He ghosted his fingertips over Crowley’s ribs and the redhead squirmed beneath him. The blonde smiled and turned his head so he could kiss Crowley’s lips once more, gently coaxing Crowley’s jaw open a little wider. He slid one of his hands up and tangled it in Crowley’s mop of red curls, his fingers tugging at his hair ever so slightly. Crowley whined a bit at that, his arms flying around Ezra’s neck as the blonde continued to kiss him. He could feel a warm, tingle-burn growing in the pit of his stomach, all of it feeling like too much and not quite enough at the same time.

“Angel!” Crowley gasped, turning his head to the side to get air he was suddenly in desperate need of. 

Ezra hushed him gently, brushing a stray lock of hair from Crowley’s face. 

“It’s alright love,” he soothed. 

“But Ezra—”

“ _ Shhhh... _ This is about you, Anthony.”

Crowley’s breath caught at the back of his throat. He tried to talk but nothing would come out. Ezra cupped his face with one hand and stroked Crowley’s cheek with his thumb. 

“You’re so wonderful,” Ezra whispered. 

The redhead gave a full-body shiver as Ezra’s words washed over him. He grabbed at the other man’s shoulders, clinging to him for some form of support. 

“Ezra,” Crowley breathed.

“Yes, love?”

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

Crowley was about to answer, but before he could get a word out, Ezra kissed the base of his neck, sucking at the skin there in an alarmingly unsleepy fashion. By the time the blonde pulled away, Crowley was panting and writhing under him, his hands alternating between grabbing at Ezra’s sides and at the sheets beneath him. 

“Shouldn’t I tell you how good you are, Anthony?”

The redhead bit his lip, moaning as he tipped his head back against his pillow.

  
_ “Angel...Please.”  _

“You’re so good my darling. I love everything about you,” Ezra continued.

He pressed another series of kisses to Crowley’s jaw and cheeks.

“But if you really want me to stop, then I will. I promise I won’t ever do anything you don’t like.”

Crowley forced himself to open his eyes and look up at Ezra once more. He just managed to catch the blonde’s eyes in the faint light of the room, and Crowley knew that Ezra was serious. Ezra held himself perfectly still, waiting for Crowley’s reply. Crowley took a deep breath.

“No. Don’t stop,” he managed. “Do whatever you want to do...I mean it.”

Ezra seemed to contemplate this for a moment before leaning in to kiss Crowley’s forehead. 

“That’s good...Because I think someone deserves a  _ reward. _ ” 

If he weren’t lying down at the moment, Crowley might have swooned at that. His mind went a thousand miles an hour, trying to figure out precisely what Ezra meant by that, but then, when one’s boyfriend makes a point of removing one’s clothes and laying them on a bed, it isn’t hard to piece together what they’re going for. 

“R-Reward?” Crowley choked out.

“Mmm-hmm,” Ezra purred. 

He trailed a few more kisses down Crowley’s neck and chest before sliding down, his head disappearing under the covers. Crowley let his eyes close, feeling Ezra leave wet kisses on his chest and stomach. The redhead finally put together what the blonde had in mind when he felt Ezra gently nudge his legs apart, settling between them. Ezra trailed his hands down Crowley’s hips and the tops of his thighs, using his sense of touch to guide him as he shifted beneath the covers. Crowley let out a low moan when he felt Ezra’s lips against his right thigh, his fingers digging into the sheets.

For several moments, Ezra let him adjust to the feeling, peppering the skin of his thighs and lower stomach with kisses. Then, he stopped. There was a pause, a low breath, and the next thing Crowley knew, Ezra’s lips were on him again, someplace they’d never ventured before. The redhead gave a shout and would have twisted in on himself if not for Ezra’s hands holding him steady. Ezra stilled for a moment, allowing Crowley to catch his breath before continuing. Crowley slowly eased himself into the sensation, vaguely aware of the string of moans and incoherent ramblings leaving his mouth.

Ezra could hear the noises Crowley made, the sounds muffled from the cover of the sheets. The blonde continued his careful, slow ministrations in complete dark, his hands gripping Crowley’s hips. The redhead squirmed at Ezra’s touch, the gentle grasp on either of his hips and thighs just enough to keep Crowley in place. Crowley  _ writhed _ at the gentle pressure of Ezra’s lips, the almost  _ sinful _ feel of his tongue. Crowley felt his back arch involuntarily, a desperate keening sound being wrenched from his lips. When Crowley thought he couldn’t stand it any longer, he slid his hands beneath the covers and tangled his fingers in Ezra’s hair.

The blonde let out a soft moan at the feel of Crowley’s touch, the vibration of his voice sending a sharp wave of pleasure throughout Crowley’s entire body. He allowed Crowley to use his hands to guide him, the redhead’s fingers tugging and caressing, subtly guiding Ezra, showing him how to best please Crowley. Ezra did as he was silently instructed, pouring all the devotion and attention he could manage into each movement, each squeeze of his fingertips, each slide of his lips against Crowley’s skin.

It didn’t take long for Crowley to come completely undone under Ezra’s attention. The redhead had practically melted into the sheets, every nerve ending in his body being overwhelmed by intense pleasure. The last, semi-coherent part of his brain marveled over how Ezra could utterly take him apart with nothing more than the light squeeze of his fingertips and gentle motions of his lips. The blonde had been rather delicate with him through it all, somehow pinning Crowley to the bed with nothing more than soft, persistent attention. 

Crowley’s hands happily returned the favor the only way they knew how, tenderly stroking Ezra’s head, his fingers combing through the blonde’s curls. He only allowed himself to do anything rougher right at the very end, when Crowley thought he couldn’t bear it any longer. He fisted a hand in Ezra’s hair, his back lifting off the mattress and head lolling back in deep, immense pleasure. When Ezra slowly made his way back up from underneath the covers, he was delightfully surprised by the sight of Crowley, who was sinking into the bed. The blonde had expected Crowley to come with a scream, a loud moan, or something similar to all of Crowley’s other vocal jumblings. 

Instead, the redhead was completely  _ silent. _ Ezra stared at him, taking in the way he looked with his eyes screwed shut and his mouth hanging open, like a pantomimed scream. Ezra trailed kisses along Crowley’s neck and jaw before settling in beside him, his face buried against the crook of Crowley’s neck. He placed a hand on Crowley’s chest and realized the redhead had seemingly forgotten how to breathe.

“Take a deep breath, love...Breathe,” he whispered, and Crowley quickly complied, drawing in a low, shuddering breath.

Ezra pressed another kiss to Crowley’s skin.

“There you go...That’s better.”

Crowley managed to give a soft hum in response before winding his arms tightly around Ezra, unwilling to let him slip away. They stayed like that for a while, Crowley clinging to the blonde until his heart rate and breathing began to slow. He was nearly ready to drift into sleep when Crowley suddenly remembered something, his eyes flying wide open. He turned his head and adjusted one of his arms, pulling Ezra away from sleep once more in the process.

“Angel,” Crowley hissed into the darkness.

“Hmm?”

“What about you?”

“What  _ about _ me?” Ezra murmured sleepily.

“We didn’t...we didn’t take care of you. I mean... _ I  _ didn’t.”

“It’s alright,” Ezra replied, giving Crowley a soft kiss just below his ear. “Believe me, I enjoyed it too. I enjoyed making you happy.”

Ezra felt Crowley press a handful of kisses into the top of his head before burying his face there. The blonde lazily rubbed at Crowley’s chest and arm in response. He yawned and nestled against Crowley’s side, moving a leg so that it tangled with Crowley’s. 

“Goodnight darling,” he said quietly. 

“Goodnight... _ My angel. _ ”

There was a beat of silence, then Ezra tilted his head up a little bit.

“You’ll be staying for breakfast, I assume?”

“ ‘m not going _ anywhere, _ ” Crowley mumbled. 

“Good...Good…”

Crowley felt little tendrils of sleep curling around him, just starting to pull him into a peaceful slumber when Ezra spoke again.

“I love you, Anthony.”

The redhead vaguely heard himself say  _ I love you _ back before slipping into one of the deepest and best nights of sleep he could ever remember having...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Not gonna lie, I love the idea of sleepy lovemaking, it's so sweet and domestic...
> 
> Anyway, as per usual, I will have the next bit uploaded by 09-30. So if you liked this chapter, you should probably stick around...


	19. A Pleasant Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple weeks have passed since Ezra and Crowley's first week back to work. They decide to share a light breakfast at a diner one weekend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to say thank you to everyone for sticking with the story! 
> 
> I am almost done with it, and should have an idea of how many chapters the entire work will be within the next week or so. This brainchild will get finished, I promise.
> 
> Enjoy!

Two weeks later, Ezra and Crowley were sitting in a small diner a few blocks away from Ezra’s flat. The redhead was nibbling on a small plate of toast, enjoying his coffee as Ezra read a copy of the morning paper. They were tucked away in a corner of the restaurant, soft noise of chatter and passing traffic outside filling the space around them. Crowley was sprawled out, leaning haphazardly against the narrow booth behind him, his legs stretched out in front of him beneath the table. Their shins were leaned against each other comfortably, the points of contact between them a silent conversation.

The subtle shifts of Crowley’s legs, gently sliding against Ezra’s were affectionate and reassuring, while the constant, nervous tapping of the blonde’s left foot served as a voicing of Ezra’s anxiety. Crowley did nothing to pressure his boyfriend into talking. He knew something was bothering him as soon as they sat down, but he would try to let it be until Ezra was ready to talk. An hour and most of a good breakfast later, nothing had improved. In fact, things had gotten worse. Ezra had taken to hiding his face behind a newspaper, only occasionally daring to glance at Crowley over the top of the page.

The first few times, Crowley pretended he didn’t know Ezra was looking at him, but recently he’d started flicking his eyes over to meet Ezra’s. Each time, the blonde would quickly look away, almost as if he were afraid to meet Crowley’s eyes, which were now almost always unmasked, his sunglasses stowed away elsewhere. The next time Ezra chanced a look at him, Crowley was prepared. He’d allowed one of his hands to drift across the tabletop when Ezra wasn’t looking, his fingers only inches away from one of the blonde’s hands. 

Ezra glanced at him over the top of his newspaper and a beat later, Crowley turned his head to stare at him, head-on this time. The blonde made a move to turn the page of his newspaper, but Crowley was faster. He quickly slid his hand over, grasping Ezra’s fingers with his own. The blonde gave a small noise of surprise and banged one of his knees into the table leg. Crowley’s mug of tea and Ezra’s mug of coffee rattled slightly, their silverware making a clattering noise. Crowley’s grip was firm but not  _ too _ firm, just enough to keep Ezra’s hand in place, but not enough to truly harm him. The newspaper fell to the table’s surface as a hot blush covered Ezra’s cheeks. 

_ “Anthony,” _ he scolded.

Crowley leaned across the table, sitting up a little more straight. He still hadn’t let go of Ezra’s hand. 

“What’s bothering you, angel?” the redhead asked.

“What?” Ezra murmured, a nervous smile on his face, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Crowley sighed and stroked the back of Ezra’s hand with his thumb.

“Yes you do...You’ve been tapping your foot again. All morning this time.”

Ezra glanced down before crossing his ankles self-consciously. 

“What’s wrong?”

The blonde took a deep breath before reached across the table with his other hand, taking Crowley’s hand in both of his own. He leaned forward until his ribs were pressed against the edge of the table, like they were sharing a secret.

“Nothing’s... _ wrong,” _ Ezra said quietly. 

“Then what is it?”

“Well...There’s actually something I wanted to ask you, Anthony.”

“Of course,” Crowley replied. “Anything.”

Ezra swallowed. 

“Anthony, you  _ do _ know what next week is, don’t you?”

Crowley furrowed his brows. 

“Next week?”

“Yes.”

He gave it some thought.

“Well, I suppose we do have a department meeting, don’t we?”

“Er—yes. Yes, we do...But that’s not what I was talking about.”

“It’s not your birthday is it? I didn’t think your birthday was until June.”

“No, no. It’s not my birthday.”

Crowley stared at him, meeting Ezra’s cautious gaze. 

“Then, what is it?” he asked.

“Anthony...Next week is Valentine’s Day.”

The redhead’s eyes suddenly went wide.  _ Valentine’s Day! _ He hadn’t even thought about that. Sure, he’d intended to do something nice for Ezra, but frankly, the blonde hadn’t struck him as the type to make a big deal out of the day. Crowley figured a nice bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, perhaps some take out from the Chinese place they both liked, and an old movie would be all the fuss they’d make. Now, Crowley wasn’t so sure. 

“I realize I should have asked sooner,” Ezra continued, “but I was wondering if you’d—uh—made any plans for that evening?”

Crowley scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Um...Actually, Ezra...I hadn’t,” Crowley admitted.

To the redhead’s surprise, Ezra actually looked relieved.

“Oh! That’s good,” he breathed.

“Good? Ezra...I didn’t make any plans for Valentine’s Day because I thought you’d just want to spend the night in. Was I—was I wrong about that?”

Ezra squeezed his hand and smiled.

“Oh, Anthony. Please,  _ please,  _ don’t feel bad.”

“But...but…” Crowley stammered.

“Darling, the reason I’m asking is because  _ I  _ made us a dinner reservation.”

If it were possible, Crowley’s eyes went even wider. Slowly, he reached across the table with his free hand, cupping Ezra’s cheek. 

“You did?”

“Of course I did, dear,” Ezra smiled. “I’d been wanting to ask you about it, but...well, I was scared. It’s our first Valentine’s Day together and I didn’t want to—”

Crowley quickly leaned across the table, capturing Ezra’s lips in a kiss. Everything about the situation simply drove him to do it. The way Ezra had smiled at him, the way the blonde had gotten so nervous just to ask him to Valentine’s Day dinner, the way he’d said it—their  _ first _ Valentine’s Day, as if he’d already thought about several other Valentine’s Days that would follow. Crowley didn’t care if anyone was watching, Ezra was the only thing that mattered to him.

“I would  _ love  _ to have Valentine’s Day dinner with you,” Crowley breathed when they pulled away. “You don’t even need to ask me, angel. Of course my answer is  _ yes.” _

Ezra smiled a bit sheepishly at that. 

“I’m serious Ezra. I’ll love anything I get to do with you.”

“I’ll love anything we do together too...And I love  _ you _ Anthony. So, so much.”

Crowley pressed another kiss to Ezra’s lips before leaning back in his seat. Ezra took a quick sip of his tea and folded his hands on top of the table. 

“So,” Crowley said, reaching for a slice of toast, “where are we going to dinner?”

He watched as Ezra’s nerves threatened to return.

“Well—now, don’t say anything just yet, darling...I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise, but I suppose you ought to have some advanced notice, given the venue.”

Crowley cleared his throat.

“The  _ venue?” _

“Yes...I’m afraid they have a dress code.”

The redhead eyed him carefully for a moment.

“Angel...Where  _ exactly _ did you make a reservation?”

Ezra fidgeted slightly, twiddling his thumbs. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, pursed his lips, took a deep breath, then:

“I got us a table at the Ritz,” his voice was suddenly very small.

Crowley’s toast dropped back onto the plate. 

“You...you  _ what?” _ he demanded.

“I made a reservation at the Ritz,” Ezra repeated. 

Crowley stared at Ezra in shocked silence. A moment passed. Then another. And another after that. 

“Oh Anthony, please don’t be upset.”

“Upset?”

“Look, I know it’s a lot, but it’s my gift to you.”

“G-Gift?” Crowley managed.

“Yes...If it’s alright, dinner was going to be my gift to you. That way, you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“Ezra that’s too much.”

“But I want to, Anthony. I want to do this for you.”

The blonde reached for Crowley’s hand once more, squeezing it gently.

“Will you let me? Will you let me do this for you?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Crowley bit his lip and nodded. 

“Sure. If that’s what you want to do for Valentine’s Day, what you want to get me, I mean...that’s fine. More than fine actually.”

Crowley smiled at him.

“It’s great.  _ You’re  _ great, angel.”

Ezra grinned back, a happy, pink blush covering his cheeks. Crowley stretched across the table as far as he could, meeting Ezra once more for a kiss. The blonde tasted like tea and sugar, and in an instant, Crowley wanted nothing more than to drink in more of Ezra’s taste. He would have done it too, if not for the table in his way. Eventually, Crowley was forced back to his side of the booth. He gazed at Ezra as he leaned back, an amused grin spreading across his face.

“Oh angel...I can’t  _ wait _ for Valentine’s Day…”


	20. Dining at the Ritz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title would suggest, Ezra and Crowley dine at the Ritz...

To say that dinner at the Ritz had been amazing was an  _ understatement _ . The food, the champagne, the atmosphere— _ everything _ —had been perfect. They had each worn their best suits for the occasion, Crowley a black, 3-piece suit with a red tie, and Ezra a cream-colored 3-piece suit with a pink tie. Crowley didn’t even know the blonde owned anything other than bow ties until he saw Ezra wearing a pink, pin-striped tie with a matching pocket square that night.

Crowley had offered to pick Ezra up at his flat in Soho—it only seemed fair, as Ezra was buying him what had to be the most expensive dinner in London—and pulled up at the curb not a moment too soon. Ezra got into the Bentley and beamed at him.

“Oh, you look stunning my dear!”

“Thanks,” Crowley grinned. “And  _ you, _ ” he added, playfully poking a finger at Ezra’s chest, “Look absolutely gorgeous.”

Ezra blushed and Crowley leaned over to kiss him. Ezra slid a hand around Crowley’s neck, just for a moment, and then they parted.

“I got you something,” Crowley said quietly.

“Oh, Anthony!”

“No, no, no. I don’t want to hear it...Besides, I think it’ll be the perfect touch.”

With that, Crowley placed a small box on Ezra’s lap. The blonde gingerly opened it, his jaw went slack when he saw what was inside.

“Oh my dear boy, you really shouldn’t have,” he said.

Crowley had bought him a pair of old-fashioned gold cufflinks, with an angel’s wing design on each of them. They were _ beautiful _ . Ezra stared at him.

“Where on Earth did you find these?”

“I found them in an old antique shop, figured you’d like them,” Crowley replied. 

“Darling, they’re  _ wonderful!” _

The redhead glanced at the cufflinks, then back at Ezra. 

“Here, let me help you.” 

Crowley reached over and removed Ezra’s current—somewhat plain in comparison—cufflinks and placed them in the box. He then put the new ones on for Ezra, smoothing the sleeves of the other man’s jacket. 

“There we go. All done.”

Ezra admired them, turning his wrists over so that he could take in every tiny detail. He quickly leaned in for another kiss, a  _ longer  _ one at that.

“Thank you. Thank you  _ so much _ , Anthony,” Ezra murmured, resting his forehead against Crowley’s.

“Hey, you are my angel, after all.”

Ezra gave him another kiss at that, and then they were off to the Ritz. It was a pretty popular choice for Valentine’s Day, and Crowley wondered how Ezra had managed to get them a table.

“This place is packed,” he remarked after the waiter came by with a bottle of champagne and filled their glasses.

“Indeed it is. Good thing I secured us a table.”

“How  _ did  _ you do that by the way? Do you have magic table-reserving powers?”

“Of course not,” Ezra laughed. “I just called early enough in advance.

Crowley narrowed his eyes at him.

“When did you call?”

“Oh, it was a little while ago, can’t remember exactly when” Ezra replied, drumming his fingers on the table.

“Ezra you’re a terrible liar,” Crowley pointed out. “When did you book it? It’s not like you’re going to offend me.”

There was a moment of silence. Ezra sighed.

“Alright, dear. I called the afternoon after you took me to see the meteor shower in Tadfield.”

“Wait— _ really _ ?” 

Ezra nodded, taking a nervous sip of his champagne. Just the mention of the night was enough to bring everything flooding back. Crowley fidgeted slightly in his seat as he recalled the events from that night. A glance at Ezra told him that the blonde felt the exact same way. 

“It was such a romantic gesture Anthony,” Ezra said, a bit defensively. “I thought I should do something in turn.”

“You sap,” Crowley grinned.

“A-Anthony—”

“I bloody love you.” 

Ezra’s worried expression melted into a warm smile. Crowley lifted his champagne glass, silently proposing a toast. Ezra grabbed his own and clinked their glasses together. The Ritz may have been full of dozens and dozens of other people, but the only one that mattered was the man sitting across from him, Mister Anthony J. Crowley. 

They talked happily over dinner, sharing bites of each other’s food. They each had a bit more champagne and split a dessert: a rich, chocolate cake with delicious, raspberry topping. By the end of dinner, Ezra’s nerves had calmed and they both relaxed in their chairs, quietly holding hands under the table. Ezra paid the bill and Crowley thanked him once more, leaning over to give him a quick kiss.

As they walked out of the restaurant, towards Crowley’s Bentley, the redhead slid an arm around Ezra’s waist, pulling the blonde against him as they walked. Ezra’s hand found its way to the small of Crowley’s back, where it rested politely. When they made it to the Bentley, Crowley paused to open Ezra’s door for him, sneaking in another kiss in the process. He walked around and slid into the driver’s seat, starting up the car’s engine.

“I have one more present for you,” he said. “That is...if you want it.”

Ezra furrowed his brows at Crowley.

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s...at my flat.”

“You don’t have to worry about it, if you left it at—”

“No,” Crowley laughed.

He slid an arm around Ezra’s middle, pulling him closer. He kissed the blonde’s lips, then rested his forehead against Ezra’s.

“I mean, it’s  _ at my flat _ .”

“O- _ Oh _ !” Ezra exclaimed, realization washing over him.

He slid his hands onto Crowley’s shoulders.

“Look, if you don’t want to, I understand. But…”

“Yes?”

“I love you Ezra. And I want you.  _ All of you _ . I’m not just saying that because you bought me a nice dinner, either.”

“Anthony…” Ezra trailed off, his words beginning to fail him. 

“I mean it Ezra. I mean every word...It’s like I never get to see you with school this semester and all I want is to be with you.”

“I want to be with you too, darling. I enjoyed every second of tonight.”

Crowley shook his head again.

“I mean  _ be _ with you, angel. I want to see you,  _ all  _ of you...I want to  _ know _ you.”

The redhead slid a hand up Ezra’s thigh for emphasis.

“I want to do things properly Ezra,” Crowley said in a low voice. “I want to go as far as you’ll let me.”

At first, Ezra wasn’t sure what to say. He took Crowley’s face in his hands and gazed into his eyes. Crowley stared at Ezra with a burning intensity that made the blonde shiver. Slowly, he found the right words.

“Then perhaps...we had better go to your flat,” he said quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I really hope you liked it!
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter, you should absolutely stick around for the next one...
> 
> As always, I will have the next chapter ready to go by 10-03!


	21. Take Me Back to Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra and Crowley head back to Crowley's flat after celebrating Valentine's Day at the Ritz for some after-dinner entertainment...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I finally changed the rating to explicit as I said I would. Honestly, there's nothing too terribly graphic, but better safe than sorry, you know?
> 
> Enjoy!

Crowley kissed him, long and hard to last for the drive to his place, then jammed the Bentley into first gear. They travelled in silence, talking instead with their hands. Ezra rested his hand on top of Crowley’s thigh, and Crowley—once he’d gotten up to speed—put an arm around Ezra, each of them rubbing little phrases into each other with their fingers.  _ I love you. I love you too. I can’t wait. I need you. Oh, darling. Almost there. _

When they arrived at Crowley’s flat, they didn’t waste any time on tea or other formalities. They said very little as Crowley unlocked his door, quickly slipping inside. Crowley turned and grabbed both of Ezra’s hands, leading him into the flat, past the kitchen and sitting room, back towards the master bedroom. When they got to the closed bedroom door, Crowley grabbed Ezra by his hips and turned him so that he was facing the opposite direction. A single quick step and Ezra’s back was pinned against the door, effectively held in place by Crowley’s weight. He let out a soft gasp.

“Eager, aren’t we?” Ezra teased.

Crowley responded by claiming Ezra’s lips in a kiss, his hands grabbing at the front of the shorter man’s suit jacket. Ezra let out a muffled noise of surprise when the redhead’s hands quickly slipped under his jacket, grabbing at the fabric of his shirt and waistcoat. He tangled his hands in Crowley’s hair, moaning. The gesture only spurred Crowley on further, who pressed himself into Ezra a bit more firmly, holding him fast against the door. Ezra broke away for air.

“Easy now, dear boy,” he panted. “It would help if we made it into the bedroom first.”

“Be my guest then, angel,” Crowley grinned, gesturing towards the door.

With that, Ezra managed to turn so that he could reach the door. His hand just closed around the doorknob when Crowley’s hands were on him again, grabbing at his jacket. This time, however, the redhead slid his hands around the front of Ezra’s suit jacket, grabbing it by the lapels and stripping it off of him. The blonde glanced over his shoulder in time to catch Crowley slipping out of his own, darker-colored jacket, dropping it onto the floor next to Ezra’s. Crowley then leaned down and planted a kiss along the side of Ezra’s jaw, smiling like a man who was madly in love.

Ezra turned the knob and pushed open the door. A rather appealing notion flashed across his mind, so Ezra left it open as Crowley walked into the room behind him. He waited for the redhead to make eye contact with him, hoping that Crowley would take the bait. Ezra flicked his eyes over towards the door and Crowley got the message. The redhead moved to close the door and suddenly Ezra was pressed up against him, the door slamming shut as their combined weight leaned against it. The blonde pinned him to the door, grinning playfully.

“Just thought I’d give you a taste of your own medicine,” he said in a low voice.

Crowley made a small noise in the back of his throat at that, which only made Ezra’s smile grow even wider. He leaned in dangerously close to Crowley, close enough the redhead could feel Ezra’s breath on his cheek. Crowley moved in to kiss him, but Ezra turned his head to the side, causing Crowley to leave a rather sloppy kiss on his cheek. The redhead tried again with an equal lack of success. He gave a bit of a whine at that.

“Angel...Stop  _ teasing _ ,” the redhead groaned. 

“Why?” Ezra countered. “You seem to like it.”

Crowley let his head fall back against the door in frustration. Then, and only then did Ezra get up on his tiptoes and lean in to kiss the redhead’s lips. Crowley kissed him eagerly, his hands grabbing at Ezra’s sides hungrily. Crowley’s hands found their way back to the fabric of Ezra’s waistcoat, where his fingers fumbled with the buttons. The redhead tilted his head to the side, deepening their kiss. A moment later and he was sliding his tongue between Ezra’s lips, tickling the roof of the blonde’s mouth with the very tip. Ezra cried out against Crowley’s lips, his whole body shuddering from the strangely pleasant sensation. 

Crowley sealed their lips together once more and continued his exploration of Ezra’s mouth. They’d kissed hundreds, maybe even thousands of times before, but each time felt just as exciting. Crowley may have gotten the privilege of taking in the taste of Ezra—the way his teeth felt, the way his tongue would dance with Crowley’s, the sensual noises he made that did all kinds of funny things to Crowley—many times before, but it never got old. It felt an awful lot like being drunk, the blood in his veins rushing and his heart beating faster than ever. It was a bit like being high too, a lightness in his head and chest and an almost unbearable giddiness that consumed every inch of him.

If Crowley didn’t have Ezra holding him against the door, he might have fallen over from the excitement of it all. He had succeeded in unbuttoning the blonde’s waistcoat and was urgently tugging at the front of it, trying to get Ezra to slip out of it. By the time Ezra got the message, they both needed to pull away for air, their chests heaving. Ezra dropped his waistcoat onto the floor and reached for Crowley’s, desperately trying to return the favor. The blonde leaned in again and began to press warm, open-mouthed kisses to Crowley’s neck as his fingers set to work on the buttons of Crowley’s waistcoat.

“Fuck...angel,” he breathed, splaying his hands on Ezra’s chest.

“That is the idea,” the blonde murmured against his skin.

_ Well, if Ezra was going to behave like that... _ Crowley gripped Ezra’s hips firmly with his hands and began walking the blonde backwards, towards the bed. The backs of Ezra’s legs collided with the mattress and he nearly lost his balance. Crowley, however, was in no mood to help. His hands slid up to Ezra’s shoulders where he pushed the blonde down, forcing him to sit on the edge of the bed.

“You were saying?” Crowley said, looking down at Ezra, his eyes hooded.

“Well my dear...you’ll get no objections from me,” the blonde replied, flashing a coy smile Crowley didn’t think he’d seen on Ezra before.

“Let me get you out of all those layers first.”

It was like a race from there on out. A clumsy race, full of awkward shifting as they tried to slide out of their clothes, one kicked shin as Ezra tried to toe out of his shoes, a popped button as Crowley tugged at Ezra’s shirt just a little too enthusiastically, and a slew of wet, messy kisses placed everywhere they could manage it—but a race no less. It wasn’t long before they were both completely naked, situated at the foot of the bed. They each took in the sight of the other in the light provided by Crowley’s bedside lamp, memorizing the new details of each other’s bodies.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Crowley wrapped his arms around Ezra, bringing their bodies flush with each other. He slid one hand around the back of Ezra’s neck, the other one travelling to the small of the blonde’s back. Crowley gently coaxed Ezra into laying down on the mattress, moving so that they were lying side by side on top of the covers. He took a brief moment to adjust the pillows beneath their heads before pulling Ezra up against him once more, leaving a trail of kisses along the blonde’s cheek and jaw. Ezra’s fingertips scratched at Crowley’s side, and the redhead shivered. He slid a hand around the back of Ezra’s neck, moaning. Without further notice, Ezra twisted away to reach for the lamp. Crowley realized he was moving to turn out the light, but stopped him.

“Wait,” he said suddenly.

“What is it?” Ezra asked.

“Leave the light on...I want to see you.”

A small blush covered Ezra’s cheeks. Crowley kissed his forehead and glanced down between their bodies meaningfully.

“I want to see you angel.  _ All of you.” _

It wasn’t until that moment that Crowley realized he hadn’t actually seen the blonde completely naked before. The revelation sent a hot rush surging through every part of Crowley’s body until it culminated between his legs. Ezra looked exactly the way Crowley pictured he would, with strong legs and a short, girthy cock that seemed to suit the rest of his build perfectly. After a brief moment of hesitation, Ezra glanced down as well, drinking in the sight of Crowley’s bare form, stretched out beside his.

He stared at Crowley’s long, lithe thighs and remembered the way they’d felt under his fingertips, how his narrow hips had bucked under Ezra’s touch. Crowley’s cock was as long and slender as the rest of him—a very fitting detail in Ezra’s opinion. Everything about Crowley was precisely how Ezra expected it would be—with one exception. As inappropriate as it seemed, Ezra couldn’t help himself but giggle a little.

“What is it?” Crowley asked, furrowing his brows. “Is everything alright?”

Ezra nodded, biting his lip. Crowley glanced down at himself. He failed to see what the problem was. He drew back from Ezra a little bit.

“Angel?” he inquired.

The blonde quickly tried to calm himself, running a hand along Crowley’s ribs.

“It’s nothing dear,” he said quietly. 

A rare, mischievous smile spread across Ezra’s face.

“I just didn’t realize that the carpet matched the drapes.”

Ezra gave a quick glance down to Crowley’s lower abdomen and tangled a hand in his shoulder-length hair for emphasis. Crowley felt his jaw go slack. He stared at Ezra for several moments before regaining his composure. Of all the things he’d expected Ezra to say, that hadn’t been one of them.  _ He should have been expecting it, really.  _ This wasn’t the first time someone had made a comment.  _ It was just the first time Ezra had said something about it. But if Ezra liked that... _ Crowley decided to make a game out of it.

“Well, angel...You know  _ why _ the hair is red, don’t you?” he asked, glancing at Ezra intently. 

He watched as Ezra’s playful grin somehow grew even wider. 

“I  _ have _ heard the joke that redheads are supposed to be like fire in bed,” Ezra smirked.

“Oh,  _ absolutely _ .”

Ezra trailed his hand back up Crowley’s side, enjoying the effect it had on the other man. Crowley couldn’t help but press himself into Ezra at that, inhaling sharply as their hips met. Even so, Ezra didn’t let up on his onslaught of teasing touches, still dragging his fingers over Crowley’s bare skin. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought the redhead was rather ticklish.

“But I’m afraid I just don’t believe it,” Ezra continued, giving Crowley a pointed look.

“You don’t?” Crowley asked, raising an eyebrow.

The redhead leaned in and pressed a kiss to Ezra’s lips, a hand sliding down towards Ezra’s rear. 

“No. I don’t.”

He tilted his head back and stared at Crowley meaningfully. In an instant, Crowley rolled them over so that Ezra was pinned beneath him. 

“Then why don’t I prove it?” Crowley purred.

He took the blonde’s lips in a bruising kiss, savoring the way Ezra moaned into his mouth. The blonde quickly wrapped his arms around Crowley’s neck, pulling him even closer. When they broke away, panting, Ezra buried his face against the side of Crowley’s neck.

“I think I’d rather like that,” Ezra whispered in his ear. “Would you?”

Crowley squirmed out of Ezra’s grasp just long enough to meet his eyes.

_ “Oh you bet, angel.” _

The redhead leaned in once more, showering Ezra with fervent kisses. He kissed and sucked and bit at the skin on Ezra’s neck, leaving a trail of dark love-marks as he slowly made his was further and further down the blonde’s torso. Crowley moved from Ezra’s neck, to his shoulders, his collarbones, and finally to his chest. He teased one of the blonde’s nipples with his tongue, causing Ezra to nearly arch off the bed.

“Oh! Anthony!” he gasped. 

Crowley smiled against Ezra’s skin.

“Enjoying yourself, angel?”

“Yes darling, yes...Anthony, you’re so hot like this.”

“So are you, you tease,” Crowley panted. “Oh angel, the things I wanna do to you.”

Ezra pressed his hips up into Crowley, further egging him on. Crowley gave a low growl at that, his eyes closing.

“I want you Anthony,” the blonde breathed, pressing a series of kisses to Crowley’s chin and cheeks. “I want whatever you’ll give me.”

Crowley’s lips crashed against his own, and Ezra wrapped both his arms and his legs around Crowley tightly, never wanting to let go. Some part of Ezra’s mind marvelled at how easy it was to get a reaction out of Crowley. The redhead eased his full weight onto Ezra, moaning as their erections brushed against each other. He didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to stand it. They kissed and shifted against each other, both of them trying to seek out friction from the other’s skin. The broken noises Ezra made against Crowley’s mouth were absolutely  _ divine _ —the gasps, the low moans and strained whimpers—every sound went straight to Crowley’s cock. At this rate, Crowley was certain he’d never last if he didn’t put a little space between them, at least for a while.

  
  


He clumsily reached for his nightstand, stretching as far as he could to open the top drawer without causing Ezra too much discomfort. His right hand scrabbled for something in there for a few moments before pulling out a small tube of lube. He poured some of the sweet-scented substance into his hand and coated his fingers with it. Crowley turned his attention back to Ezra.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Anthony,  _ please _ . I’m sure darling, I’m sure.”

Crowley settled between Ezra’s legs, kneading at the flesh of the blonde’s rear with his clean hand. He trailed a few, feather-light kisses along the blonde’s stomach and hips, feeling the way Ezra slowly relaxed under his touch. After a moment, Crowley carefully slid a finger into him. Ezra drew in a low breath, his eyelids fluttering shut. 

“ _ Oh, Anthony,”  _ he breathed. “That feels so good.”

The redhead leaned down to press more kisses to Ezra’s skin, an unspoken  _ thank you _ for the blonde’s insistent praise. He moved his hand, hooking his finger inside of Ezra. The blonde moaned, surprised by his own sensitivity. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Ezra admitted, opening his eyes.

Crowley looked up, locking eyes with him.

“If you need me to stop, all you have to do is say so.”

“No, no. Don’t stop— _ please. _ ”

At Ezra’s encouragement, Crowley added a second finger. After a few experimental thrusts of his fingers, the redhead curled his fingers upward, quickly finding the spot that made Ezra squirm with pleasure.

“Oh!” the blonde cried out. “Oh darling, that’s it!”

Crowley slid his fingers over the same area a few more times and Ezra whimpered. He reached down suddenly, hoping to grab onto Crowley any way that he could, trying to find some way to bring them closer. Ezra managed to grab a handful of Crowley’s hair, tugging at it. The redhead gave a soft cry of surprise that quickly turned into a moan. He moved his fingers faster, trying to give Ezra the same, intense pleasure he felt.

“You’re so good,” the blonde panted. “You’re so,  _ so  _ good to me Anthony.”

“Only...Only because you deserve it,” Crowley mumbled, delighting in Ezra’s praise.

“If I deserve this, you deserve so much more...I can’t believe how wonderful you are to me.”

The redhead had to close his eyes at that. His motions didn’t stop, but he had to concentrate more on what he was doing with each bit of praise Ezra gave him. By the time Crowley added a third finger, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make it any further. Just the thought of sliding himself into Ezra, the blonde moaning out sweet nothings at the feel of his cock instead of his fingers was enough to nearly make Crowley come then and there, completely untouched. Suddenly, Ezra was pulling him out of his own head.

“More,” he moaned. “I need more, Anthony...I need  _ you.” _

_ And how could Crowley ever tell him ‘no?’ _ The redhead slowly slid his fingers out, his hands going to Ezra’s hips to steady himself. Crowley leaned in and kissed Ezra’s lips, his cheeks, his chin, moaning shamelessly at the way the other man’s hands grabbed at him, pulling at his sides, then his hair. Crowley moved slowly despite Ezra’s begging him go faster.

“Please, Anthony.  _ Please. _ I’m not made of glass,” the blonde urged, bucking his hips for emphasis.

Crowley didn’t think he could stand to push himself into Ezra any faster. When he finally slid himself in all the way to the base, Crowley thought he would collapse on top of the blonde. The sensation of Ezra,  _ gorgeous Ezra _ , hot and tight around him was better than anything he remembered feeling. 

_ “Move,”  _ the blonde pleaded.

Without further warning, Ezra fisted a hand in Crowley’s hair and gave it a harsh yank. A hot tingle-burn made its way down Crowley’s body, from the top of his scalp to the tips of his toes. He wasn’t sure how he did it, but Crowley managed to move, spurred on by the insistent tug of Ezra’s fingers in his hair. The noises the blonde made were  _ heavenly. _ The delicate moans and gushings of praise Crowley obtained for what he did with his fingers had been tantalizing enough—but this was something else altogether.

“You’re  _ brilliant _ Anthony,” Ezra panted into his ear. “You’re such a wonder my darling—my dearest!”

_ “Angel…” _

Crowley started to move his hips a little faster.

“You feel so good...Like you were _ made _ for me.”

“Ezra,  _ please _ ,” Crowley whined.

It felt like he was holding onto Ezra for dear life, every word the blonde said bringing him closer and closer to the edge.

“You were, weren’t you?” Ezra moaned. “My perfect puzzle piece.”

“ _ Fuck,”  _ Crowley hissed. “Angel, you can’t do that.” 

“But it’s true. You’re  _ perfect.” _

Crowley gave a low, guttural moan.

“If you...If you keep saying things like that I won’t last.”

_ “So don’t.” _

Crowley’s lips refused to form words.  _ How could he possibly respond to that? _ He felt Ezra’s hands trail down his sides and grab onto his hips, silently encouraging Crowley to move even faster. Soon, the redhead picked up speed, rocking his hips forward with an intensity that threatened to completely undo both of them. Each thrust moved against Ezra’s sweet spot, sending jolts of pleasure through the blonde’s entire body. 

“Anthony... _ Oh, Anthony. Darling _ .”

“I love you, angel,” Crowley panted, his voice beginning to go hoarse. 

“Oh! Oh I love you too. I—ah!”

Crowley wasn’t sure how long he could last from the utter excitement of it all. He felt Ezra take his face in both of his hands, tilting Crowley’s head to look down at him. Crowley’s eyes were screwed shut.  _ He was close _ .

“Look at me,” Ezra said softly. 

“ _ Angel _ .”

“Look at me Anthony. I want you...I want you to look me in the eyes.”

Crowley’s eyes blinked open and locked with Crowley’s, bright golden meeting piercing blue. The intensity of the blonde’s stare was almost too much. Ezra smiled up at him.

“You have...the most gorgeous eyes,” the blonde managed.

Crowley rocked his hips forward a few more times and Ezra bit his lip.

“Let go for me, Anthony.”

“Angel—I—”

“I’m almost there, darling. I know you are too.”

He slid his hands down to grab hold of Crowley’s. Ezra pulled their hands up to either side of his head and laced their fingers together. Crowley rocked his hips once more and then:

“Ah—Anthony!”

Ezra’s back arched and his whole body was racked with pleasure. Crowley followed only seconds behind, moaning Ezra’s name over and over again. They lay pressed against each other for a while, each of them clinging to the other. Then, Ezra rolled them over onto their sides, their limbs still tangled together. He stroked Crowley’s hair while the redhead breathed heavily against his brow. 

“Oh, Anthony...that was…” Ezra trailed off, then laughed quietly to himself.

The redhead couldn’t help himself but laugh as well, low and breathy.

“What?” he asked.

“I guess the joke about redheads is true.”

Crowley propped himself up on an elbow, taking in the sight of Ezra, his cheeks and chest still flushed, his brow covered in a thin layer of sweat.

“At least in your case,” Ezra added.

Crowley suddenly wrapped his arms around Ezra pulling them flush with each other once more. He pressed a kiss to the side of Ezra’s head.

“And don’t you forget it,” he teased. 

“How could I?” Ezra murmured, burying his face in the crook of Crowley’s neck.

They were silent for a moment, then:

“And you better not try that with any  _ other  _ redheads,” Crowley said with mock seriousness.

“Oh my dear boy...I’d never dream of it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for checking this chapter out, I hope you liked it!
> 
> I will have the next chapter uploaded by 10-07, so stick around! We are beginning to get closer to the end of the story, and I can't wait to see how everyone likes the upcoming chapters...


	22. A Simple Solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra and Crowley spend Spring Break together. Crowley has something important he wants to ask Ezra...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next bit, as promised. Hope you like it!

February turned to March, and March turned to April. Soon all the students were on Spring Break for a week, and Crowley and Ezra made plans to take a vacation. A quick online search in Ezra’s living room and a few calls later, Crowley and Ezra had rented a small, private cottage along the coast in Dorset. They spent four days there, relaxing by the beach and enjoying each other’s company. In the mornings, Ezra would make tea and toast for them and they’d chat, taking in the view of the beach from their cottage. During the afternoons, they took strolls around nearby parks and shops, stopping for lunch in one of the local restaurants. 

In the evenings they would rest, lounging about in the living room of the cottage. Ezra would read one of the paperbacks he’d brought with him, while Crowley laid on the sofa next to him, either his head or his feet laying in the blonde’s lap. Crowley would take little catnaps, only to be gently roused by the sound of Ezra clearing his throat, or by one of his hands carding through Crowley’s hair. Just before the sun set, they would make dinner together, then go for a long walk on the beach. Nights were filled with glasses of wine and playful kisses and the kind of breathless, heart-racing expressions of love Crowley had only ever dreamed of.  _ He never wanted their vacation to end. _

When they grudgingly returned to London, Crowley did everything he could to make the most out of their time together. Going back to work in a few days meant not getting to see as much of Ezra as Crowley wanted. The Saturday night before they would return to work, Crowley laid awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. There was a soft murmur and Ezra snuggled into Crowley’s side. Crowley turned to glance at him in the dark, gently running a hand through his blonde curls. Ezra mumbled something that sounded a lot like  _ love you  _ before letting out the tiniest of snores against Crowley’s shoulder. 

The redhead smiled to himself and closed his eyes. He could feel Ezra’s breath against his skin, the way the blonde’s arm was slung lazily over his chest, how their feet tangled together under the covers. Ezra spent quite a bit of time at Crowley’s flat anymore. While he wasn’t over there every night, Crowley realized that he’d begun to make space for Ezra around his flat. Crowley had cleared off a shelf in his medicine cabinet, where he’d encouraged Ezra to leave a toothbrush and a few other things in case the blonde felt like spending the night.

He’d even held on to a couple of Ezra’s t-shirts, leaving them folded in one of the drawers of his dresser, that way Ezra could change into them before going to bed if he wanted.  _ It wasn’t for nothing that Crowley did this. _ Deep down, he knew exactly why he insisted on keeping some of Ezra’s things in his flat. It didn’t bother him–far from it. He was perfectly fine with wanting Ezra to be under the same roof as him as often as the blonde was willing and able. What bothered him–what really  _ scared  _ Crowley–was the idea that Ezra might not feel the same way. 

Crowley had been debating whether or not he should try broaching the subject for a little while now. He thought about doing it during their vacation, but the timing never seemed right. Ezra was always too happy, too content for Crowley to risk ruining anything–and this week had been  _ amazing. _ Crowley enjoyed every second he spent with his boyfriend, and he could easily see himself enjoying the kind of nights they’d shared during spring break every night. 

He could see them cooking meals together, Ezra reading in the living room while he played with Crowley’s hair, the two of them sharing a bed every night, sharing a bathroom, sharing Crowley’s small study–sharing a  _ life. _ The redhead let out a heavy sigh and shifted his weight slightly, being sure not to disturb Ezra.  _ Tomorrow was Sunday, their last day of freedom. _ After letting out a slow, shaky breath, Crowley pressed a kiss to Ezra’s forehead as the blonde slept, finally arriving at a decision.  _ He would do it. _

  
  


**********

  
  


The following morning was a calm and quiet one. Ezra awoke to find himself wrapped in Crowley’s arms, the redhead gently snoring against his temple. Had it been a weekday, Ezra would have had to rouse Crowley from sleep and peel the other man’s arms off of him, murmuring quietly that he really ought to get up if he wanted to make it to work on time. It was a precious morning ritual. The thought of how Crowley usually protested with a sleepy ‘five more minutes’ or ‘not yet, angel’ while wrapping his arms and legs around Ezra a little tighter brought a smile to Ezra’s face. It was a precious morning ritual, indeed.  _ But not nearly as precious a morning like this. _

Instead of getting up, Ezra continued to lay in bed, refusing to disturb Crowley until the redhead was completely ready to get up. It wasn’t long until soft snores turned into slow stretches and quiet yawns. Those, of course, quickly turned into loving pats and rubs, accompanied by the inevitable ‘good morning’s, murmured with voices still tinged with hints of sleep. It wasn’t long until all of this was replaced entirely by long, lazy kisses and the first signs that neither of them were truly  _ asleep _ anymore. Inevitably, the kisses slowly became anything  _ but  _ lazy as hands started to grab with urgency and the clothes that served as pajamas were littered onto the floor.

Breakfast was taken in comfortable silence at the table next to Crowley’s kitchen. They munched on toast and coffee, only communicating with the subtle glances shot at each other over the rims of mugs and reading glasses. Lunch was followed up by a long stroll in St. James’ Park, leaving both of them pleasantly tired and eager to return back to Crowley’s flat. Crowley also noted that it left several of the ducks in St. James’ Park a bit more full of bread crumbs, but Ezra did enjoy spoiling them so. 

Crowley napped on the sofa, his head nestled comfortably in Ezra’s lap. The blonde’s lap was better than any pillow the redhead ever owned, and the quiet sound of Ezra turning pages of whatever book he was reading coaxed Crowley into sleep faster than any lullaby. When he awoke that evening, Crowley decided to surprise Ezra by ordering take-out from their favorite restaurant, Lucky’s. A few cartons of orange chicken and fried rice later, Crowley and Ezra were chatting in the living room, a Velvet Underground record playing in the background. They’d each had a glass of wine, and were giggling over something Ezra had said, when suddenly, Crowley’s eyes lit up.

“What is it?” Ezra asked.

“This song,” Crowley murmured.

They fell silent for a moment as the start of a new song began to play. Thanks to spending more and more time with Crowley, Ezra could now identify dozens of new songs by their opening melodies. This one happened to be  _ Some Kinda Love _ . He knew Crowley rather liked the Velvet Underground, but  _ this _ song was one of Crowley’s favorites. Ezra watched with amusement as the redhead smiled and began tapping his foot in time with the music. An instant later and Crowley was on his feet, grabbing at Ezra’s hands.

“What are you—”

“Dance with me,” Crowley grinned, practically hauling Ezra to his feet. 

They shuffled into a small clearing in front of Crowley’s coffee table, being careful not to bump into anything. A few beats later, and they were managing a slight sway in time with the music—or rather, Crowley was managing a slight sway in time with the music and Ezra was being dragged along with him. Lou Reed’s voice began to fill the open space of the living room, and much to Ezra’s surprise, Crowley’s voice joined in.

“ _ Some kinda love, Margarita told Tom, between thought and expression lies a lifetime. Situations arise because of the weather, and no kinds of love are better than others.” _

Ezra smiled, staring at Crowley. The redhead smiled back, pressing a kiss to Ezra’s forehead when a brief break in the music allowed. He slid his hand to the small of Ezra’s back, pulling him in a little closer.

_ “Some kinda love, Margarita told Tom, like a dirty French novel combines the absurd with the vulgar. And some kinds of love, the possibilities are endless, and for me to miss one would seem to be groundless.” _

Soon they were dancing chest to chest, with Crowley’s cheek pressed against Ezra’s temple. The blonde was doing his best not to step on Crowley’s feet, and would have been a bit embarrassed about his own lack of rhythm if not for the way Crowley was holding him, content just to shuffle in a slow circle, no longer in time with the music. Ezra could feel the redhead grinning as he sang, Crowley’s lips just brushing his ear. In the end, all it took was a conveniently placed,  _ ‘mmm-hmm, oh yeah,’ _ that just so happened to be part of the song’s lyrics. The simple phrase, muttered against the blonde’s ear, did all sorts of funny things to Ezra.

Now thoroughly interested in a very different type of  _ dancing, _ Ezra grabbed Crowley by the front of his shirt and began tugging him towards the bedroom. Neither of them bothered to close the door behind them, their minds too focused on other things. The Velvet Underground’s music continued to play in the living room, providing a soundtrack that Ezra would have never associated with lovemaking until that evening. Neither of them even noticed that the record had played out until they lay breathless on the bed, with Crowley’s face nuzzled against the blonde’s neck. Ezra rubbed his back gently as their heart rates slowly returned to normal.

“Hey...Hey Ezra?” Crowley murmured.

“Mmm?” the blonde hummed, not bothering to lift his head.

“ _ Ez-ra _ ,” Crowley drawled in a sing-songy voice.

“What is it?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, silly,” Ezra laughed, wrapping his arms around Crowley a little tighter.

“Look, there’s— _ ahem _ ,” Crowley cleared his throat. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Crowley propped himself up on one elbow to look at Ezra. When the blonde saw Crowley’s expression—unusually tense for having just had sex—he placed his hands on the other man’s shoulders, then trailed a hand up to cup Crowley’s face. He ran his thumb over the redhead’s cheek and Crowley smiled at him, nervously.  _ He was shaking _ . Ezra made a soft, tutting noise, then managed to get both of them into a slightly more comfortable, seated position.

“Oh, dearest, you’re trembling all over! What’s wrong?”

“I…” Crowley sighed.

“What is it?” Ezra asked with concern.

“I know this semester has been a little... _ difficult _ for both of us. It’s been hard to see each other from time to time.”

“It certainly has,” Ezra agreed. “But at least we’ve had this week.”

“Yeah.”

Crowley cleared his throat again, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“The thing is...I thought of a solution to that.”

Ezra furrowed his brows. 

“Oh? What kind of a solution?”

“A simple one really,” Crowley replied.

He bit his lip and reached for Ezra’s hand. Ezra took it, still confused and now very concerned by Crowley’s sudden change in behavior. His mind was going a million miles an hour, but he didn’t want to frighten Crowley off, so he held his tongue.

“And what might that be?” he asked. 

“I wouldn’t have to try and make time to go see you if we lived together,” Crowley said quietly.

Ezra blinked at him.

“I’d get to see you whenever I wanted.”

“Oh, Anthony—”

“You could move in with me if you want. I mean, there’s plenty of room here for both of us,” he blurted, gesturing to the space around them. “We could put a nightstand on your side of the bed, and I could move some of my things around so you’d have room for your clothes.”

Ezra felt his jaw go slack.

“And I know I have the study in the back, but there’s plenty of room in there for bookshelves and all of your books...Everything that’s here, it—it could be  _ yours _ . The sofa, the record player. You’d be able to use it all, any time you wanted.”

The blonde tried for words, but nothing would come out.

“Oh Ezra, say  _ something _ ...Say  _ anything _ !”

“Anthony, I...I don’t know what to say.”

He looked up at Crowley and saw the heartbreak in his eyes. Crowley’s lips quivered a little bit and he turned away.

“I’m sorry,” the redhead said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I shouldn’t have dropped that on you—I…”

He blinked a couple times and Ezra thought he saw a tear at the corner of Crowley’s eye.

“ _ I should have known you weren’t looking for that _ .” 

Ezra leaned over and wrapped his arms around him. He pulled Crowley against his chest and kissed his forehead.

“Don’t you ever say such a thing,” he scolded.

Crowley looked up, shocked, and Ezra saw that he was in fact, crying. 

“Oh, dear heart,” Ezra murmured, hugging Crowley tighter.

He stroked Crowley’s hair, trying to comfort him. 

“I’m just surprised, that’s all! I...I wasn’t expecting you to ask me something like that.”

“You’re just saying that,” Crowley mumbled.

“I am  _ not _ ,” Ezra replied. 

He grabbed the sides of Crowley’s face and forced the other man to look at him.

“Now you just listen. It’s not that I don’t love you, or that I don’t want to be with you. I do! You simply caught me off guard! Anthony, it’s not like I knew you’d be asking me to move in with you. That’s...that’s a  _ big deal. _ ”

“It is a big deal,” Crowley agreed. “And...it’s probably  _ too big _ of a deal...right?”

Ezra stared at him for a moment in complete shock. Before the redhead had a chance to say anything else, Ezra seized him by his shoulders and pulled him into bruising kiss. At first, Crowley was stunned, unable to move, but as Ezra dragged him closer, refusing to let him get away, he found himself melting into the kiss. Ezra pulled away a few moments later and gently wiped the tears from Crowley’s face.

“You are so loved, dear boy,  _ so loved _ . One day you’ll see just how much, I promise.”

“I love you too, angel. So much.”

They stared at each other for several moments before Crowley got up the nerve to speak again.

“So…” he trailed off.

Ezra sighed before wrapping his arms around Crowley again. After a bit of maneuvering that was entirely unexpected on Crowley’s part, they were laying down again. This time, Crowley was laid flat on his back while Ezra sprawled over his chest, effectively pinning him to the bed. The blonde nuzzled into him, leaving a trail of kisses along Crowley’s jaw. He felt, rather than saw, Crowley’s adam’s apple bob nervously before the redhead cleared his throat, a hand cautiously patting at Ezra’s shoulder.

“Ezra, I...I’m confused.”

The blonde gave another, if not more deeply exasperated sigh before drawing himself up to look Crowley in the eyes.

“I’m saying  _ yes _ , you old silly,” Ezra laughed.

Crowley’s eyes went wide. He looked as if he could burst into tears again, but for an entirely different reason. He pulled Ezra in for a kiss, neither of them breaking away until both of their chests ached, their lungs screaming for air. 

“Of course I’ll move in with you,” the blonde breathed. “Just remember something for me, will you?”

“Hmm?” Crowley hummed, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s going to be incredibly difficult to get rid of me from here on out.”

The redhead smiled up at him, his expression suddenly rather playful.

“Oh angel... _ I hope so.” _

With that, Crowley pressed another kiss to Ezra’s lips before rolling them over so that the blonde lay beneath him.

“Not going anywhere now, are we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a million for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> As you may have noticed, I have finally decided how long this work is going to be, so it should only be a couple weeks until it's finished. Yay!
> 
> I will have the next part uploaded by 10-10, and you're not going to want to miss it, I guarantee...


	23. Think of You Always

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra and Crowley enjoy moving in and living together...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update is coming a little bit later than it normally does, it's been a busy day...
> 
> Anyway, here you go!

Crowley absolutely  _ loved _ living with Ezra. The blonde had been true to his word, using the reprieve from work that summer break offered to pack up all of his things and move them into Crowley’s flat. Their first day living together had been  _ fantastic. _ Ezra started on unpacking all of his clothes, placing them in the drawers and hanging them up in the closet next to Crowley’s. In the coming days, the chore of doing laundry became an unexpected joy. The redhead smiled to himself as he folded a basket of his  _ and _ Ezra’s clothes, laughing when he nearly folded a pair of Ezra’s socks inside out. That first night, they celebrated by cooking dinner together, using the pans from Ezra’s old kitchen, pans that were now  _ theirs. _

They furthered the celebration by making love in  _ their  _ bed, and Ezra was actually able to change into his own pajamas afterwards instead of borrowing one of Crowley’s old shirts. The next morning, Ezra and Crowley were able to lay in bed for a few hours before lazily getting up to make breakfast. Ezra continued his unpacking throughout the rest of the week, and Crowley surprised him with a nightstand for his side of the bed. As promised, they purchased a couple of bookcases for Crowley’s office, and Ezra moved his books into the room, encouraging Crowley to read whichever of them he so desired, whenever he wanted to. 

Their very first summer together proved to be one of the best Ezra could ever remember. It was filled with peaceful strolls in St. James’ Park, shared ice-creams, and long, hot summer nights. Neither of them wanted it to end. But as July became August, summer drew to a close and fall began to take its place. Ande while meant that they would have to go back to work, there wasn’t the same bitterness at being thrust back into their regular classes and meetings and office hours that there had been before. Now that they lived together, Crowley and Ezra saw each other all the time. Ezra could even sleep in a little bit because he didn’t have to drive to Soho to get ready for work.

They could eat breakfast together, Crowley attending to his plants while Ezra read the paper. They could carpool to work and chat as they walked to their offices. Ezra could wait in Crowley’s office as the redhead finished up his last class before heading home together, and when no one was looking, they could hold hands on the way back out to the car park. Making dinner was fun too. It was an adventure that came from the combination of neat ideas from the internet and their own imaginations. Some of the dishes were good, some were not, and a few rare dishes were absolutely marvelous. It was much more practical than eating out all the time. Not to mention, it gave Crowley a rare opportunity.

He loved getting to interact with Ezra in the kitchen. He loved the way the blonde insisted on keeping everything sparkling clean, the spices in a particular order, the baking ingredients arranged just so. Some would have called these particular habits borderline obsessive-compulsive, but to Crowley, it was just another one of Ezra’s endearing quirks. He also enjoyed getting to mess with his boyfriend every now and again. He loved the way Ezra practically squeaked when Crowley swatted at his bottom with a spatula, or fussed over him when Crowley pretended to have chopped off one of his own fingers. And he  _ really  _ fussed over him when Crowley actually managed to cut himself with one of the kitchen knives while dicing an onion. 

In only a matter of a few months, Crowley got used to living with Ezra. It felt so natural, so  _ right _ . Crowley quickly forgot what it had been like being without him, his darling angel, until the blonde got whisked away to a conference along with Professor Nutter in Manchester. It wasn’t  _ that _ far away, not really. But he and Professor Nutter were scheduled to stay there for three days, and Crowley found himself feeling lonely very early on.

“I promise I’ll be back by Thursday afternoon,” Ezra replied, sitting down on the bed in his hotel room.

He leaned over and took off his shoes, then slid himself fully onto the bed, flopping down on top of the comforter. He changed his cell phone over to his other ear and passed his free hand over his face. Between the drive and the conference’s opening meetings, it had been a long day.

“What time?” Crowley asked, trying not to sound too anxious and failing miserably.

He was stretched out on their bed at home, cell phone similarly pressed against his ear. It had been a very boring day without Ezra there to keep him company.

“Oh I don’t know...Probably some time after noon.”

Crowley made a sort of noncommittal grunt.

“So, what are you up to?” Ezra asked after a moment.

“Not much. Had some of the leftover casserole for dinner, watched a few episodes of the Golden Girls.”

“Without me?” Ezra teased.

“Afraid I had to angel, seems as you’re not here.”

“I know, I know. But it’s only for a few days.”

“Mmm.”

There was a beat of silence.

“I miss you, Anthony.”

“I miss you too, Ezra,” Crowley replied.

Suddenly a thought struck him. If Ezra  _ had _ been at home, he would have seen the sly smile on Crowley’s face. It was the same smile that often preceded mischief of some form on Crowley’s part. But Ezra was not there to see it, so Crowley’s mischief managed to catch him off guard.

“I’ve been very lonely,” Crowley said intently. 

“I know dear, but it’s just a little while longer.” 

“I’m feeling very... _ lonely _ tonight too. It’s a shame you’re not here.”

“Oh?”

Had Crowley been in Ezra’s hotel room, he would have noticed the blonde’s peculiar expression. It has halfway between confusion and suspicion. Something inside of Ezra told him to  _ read between the lines _ but he wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to be looking for.

“Is that so?” Ezra continued, not sure what else to say.

“Oh,  _ yes _ ,” Crowley practically hissed into the phone. “I guess you could even say I’m feeling rather... _ needy _ .”

_ Ah. That’s what it is _ , Ezra thought to himself. He wasn’t sure what to say to that. He knew of people doing this sort of thing, but it wasn’t as if he’d actually tried it himself. When Ezra took too long to respond, Crowley sighed into the phone.

“Oh well. With you being in Manchester, I guess I’ll just have to take care of it by myself.”

“A- _ Anthony _ !” Ezra cried, his face turning a dark shade of red.

“What? Does that  _ bother _ you, angel? I bet it does, knowing I’m all alone without you here to keep me warm.” 

“You wicked little thing! You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I’d be enjoying it more if you were here.”

“Would you, now?”

“Oh,  _ yessss _ ,” Crowley whispered into the phone.

Ezra felt something stirring in the pit of his stomach.  _ Oh, what the hell _ , he thought.

“So what would you do if I was there?” he asked quietly.

There was another beat of silence, then:

“For an angel, you sure can be naughty. Well, since you’re just  _ dying _ to know, I’ll tell you.  _ First _ , I’d…”

Ezra managed to undo the top button of his shirt with one hand while Crowley continued to whisper all sorts of devilishly tempting things in his ear, his skin already feeling a bit warm. The redhead told him everything—things he’d do to Ezra if he were still in London, promises of what he’d do the minute Ezra got back home—in no shortage of detail. The blonde felt a hot flush make its way over his cheeks and chest, vaguely thankful that he’d decided to make the call home on his personal phone. 

“You’re awfully quiet, angel. Am I boring you?” Crowley asked suddenly.

“Not in the slightest, my dear,” Ezra replied.

_ Perhaps leaving town for a couple nights wouldn’t be so bad after all... _


	24. Meet the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Ezra and Crowley near their one-year mark of dating, Ezra decides to have Crowley meet his older brother...What could possibly go wrong?

“Yes, of course we’ll be there,” Ezra said into the phone.

Crowley wandered into the sitting room with one of Ezra’s tartan blankets draped over his shoulders like a cape. He tossed himself down on the sofa next to Ezra and curled up with his head in the blonde’s lap. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself, making a cocoon out of it. He glanced up at Ezra and noticed he was wearing slightly nervous expression.

“Yes and be sure to tell Gabriel not to worry about dessert. I’ll bring something sweet for us.”

Crowley stared up at Ezra, but the blonde didn’t seem to notice. He nuzzled the top of Ezra’s thigh and finally the blonde gave him some much desired attention. He gently ran a hand through Crowley’s hair while holding the phone with his other hand. 

“Oh, sometime around noon. Does that work for you two?”

Ezra smiled and nodded.

“Alright I’ll see you then. Thank you Michael.”

He glanced down at Crowley and smiled.

“Goodnight.”

With that, he hung up the phone and sighed, brushing a few stands of Crowley’s hair back from his face.

“Am I not allowed to talk to someone else for more than a few minutes without you throwing yourself at me?”

“Nope,” Crowley replied, grinning.

Ezra suddenly turned towards Crowley and propped his feet on the edge of the sofa, while sliding his hands under Crowley’s arms. He hauled the redhead up from his lap and slid him onto his chest. Crowley leaned back against Ezra as the blonde wrapped his arms around him. 

“So who was that?”

“That was Michael, Gabriel’s husband. You’ll get to meet him tomorrow.”

“Mmm.”

There was a beat of silence. 

“Are nervous about your brother meeting me?” Crowley asked all of a sudden.

“What? No! I just…”

Crowley sat up, turning to face Ezra. He quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Well?”

“I’m more nervous about  _ you _ meeting  _ him _ ,” Ezra admitted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ezra sighed.

“Anthony, my brother can be a difficult man to get along with—and believe me, I know. He and I don’t really have much in common.”

“Hmm,” Crowley mused. “What exactly is he like?”

“Oh, Gabriel’s quite the success. He and Michael are both lawyers, they have a nice vacation home in Leeds where they go for the holidays. Very prim and proper, both of them.”

Crowley blinked at him.

“Prim and proper huh? Does that mean I shouldn’t try putting the moves on you while we’re all at the table?”

Ezra’s eye twitched.

  
  


**********

  
  


Thankfully Crowley didn’t try anything while they were at dinner, or at least, he didn’t try anything  _ too  _ brazen. Their late lunch was drawing to a close and Michael and Ezra chatted quietly at the table. Gabriel eventually turned his attention towards Crowley.

“So, erm—Anthony,” he began, after taking a sip of his wine. “Ezra tells me you work at the University of London.”

“Yes. I’m a professor of mathematics,” Crowley replied coolly.

“Impressive. You’ve managed to stay there for quite a while it seems.”

Crowley furrowed his brows.

“I mean, it’s not like I have any intentions of going to a different university.”

He glanced over at Ezra with a fond expression.

“Especially now that a  _ certain someone _ works there too.”

Gabriel smiled at that. It was a  _ knowing _ smile, the smile of someone who definitely knew more than some of the others at the table. But it was a  _ cruel _ , knowing smile.

“Oh, that’s not what I meant. I’m just surprised they still let you keep your job at all after your drunken disorderly with one of the other faculty members.”

Crowley’s smile vanished.

“Excuse me?” he managed.

“Well I figured I’d do some research on you after Ezra told me about the two of you moving in together.”

Crowley’s eyes darted around the table nervously behind his sunglasses.

“But everything I found said that Dr. Hastur dropped the charge.”

Ezra leaned back in his seat, staring daggers at his brother. 

“You know, that really surprised me,” Gabriel continued, pausing only to take a bite from his plate, “especially considering you already had a criminal record.”

Even Michael was beginning to grow uncomfortable. He placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder.

“Gabe…” he said quietly. 

“No, no, it’s alright,” Gabriel responded.

He turned his attention to Ezra.

“I just want to make sure my little brother really knows the man he’s been dating for the last year.”

“Gabriel, you...you don’t need to do this. We’re having a nice get-together, I don’t think this is the time,” Ezra said softly. 

“Good a time as any!”

“Yes, but it’s not  _ necessary _ ,” Ezra replied, an edge in his voice.

“No?” Gabriel asked, taking another sip of his wine. “So then, you already know about his three DUI’s and the  _ other  _ time he got charged with drunken disorderly conduct?”

Ezra fell silent. Gabriel leaned forward.

“Oh! Oh, he didn’t tell you about those?”

Michael nudged Gabriel and shook his head. Gabriel was about to say something to his husband when Crowley slammed a fist down on the table, making all of them jump.

“Hey,” he growled. “That’s got nothing to do with him! If you wanna get mad at somebody, get mad at the guy who did all that stuff!”

They all turned to face Crowley, who was glaring at Gabriel over the rims of his sunglasses. 

“Anthony…” Ezra murmured

Slowly, Crowley turned to look at the blonde. His expression softened.

“I was gonna tell you. I promise I was, I just never found a good time. I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you, I swear. I would never do that.”

Ezra’s lips quivered. His eyes darted away.

“Oh, angel.  _ Please _ —“

“You know, I’m only a lawyer, but it seems like you have a bit of a problem with alcohol, Mister Crowley,” Gabriel said. 

Crowley snapped his head around to look at him. 

“I—”

“Is that why you wear sunglasses indoors? So we can’t see if you’re hungover?”

Gabriel frowned at his brother.

“Honestly Ezra, I don’t know what you see in this man. I mean...did you  _ really _ not know? Couldn’t you tell?”

Another growl emanated from Crowley’s throat as he tore the sunglasses from his face and flung them at Gabriel. His amber eyes pierced at him from across the table.

“That’s not true. And it’s not anybody’s business but mine!”

Without a word, Ezra got up from the table and walked away. Crowley and Michael both stood up.

“Ezra,” Michael called after him, but Ezra didn’t respond.

Crowley stood there with his jaw hanging open, not sure what to say. After several moments, Michael sat back down and took a large sip of his wine. Crowley turned to face Gabriel.

“Look I don’t owe anyone an explanation for my actions,  _ least of all you _ ...but that was a long time ago. I made stupid choices as a young man, choices I deeply,  _ honestly  _ regret...But no matter what I’ve done, no matter what mistakes I’ve made, I  _ love _ your brother. I love Ezra more than I remember loving anyone else.”

Gabriel stared up at him. He had nothing to say to that.

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Crowley gritted out, “I need to go be with him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. This is an awful cliffhanger to leave you on...
> 
> All the more reason to stick around until the next chapter, which will be uploaded by 10-14!
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading, I really hope that you liked it!


	25. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Ezra drive back to London after getting into a fight with Ezra's brother, Gabriel. Crowley anxiously waits to see how the afternoon's events will affect his relationship with Ezra...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I hope you like some drama, because that's what this chapter is all about! We've got a couple sad moments ahead, but I promise this story will have a happy ending!
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy!

The drive back to London was almost unbearable. What was really only a couple of hours felt like an eternity to Crowley—and it was a  _ silent _ one. The redhead didn’t know how much longer he could bear the silence that hung over them. He tried opening his mouth to speak several times on their drive back to London, but Crowley couldn’t find the words to properly express what he wanted to say. They had taken Ezra’s car up to Leeds, which meant that Ezra was the one driving. Crowley sat awkwardly in the passenger's seat the whole way home, staring out the passenger’s side window. Before they left for London, he apologized to Ezra and managed to get a weak, ‘I forgive you,’ out of him, but their conversation was far from over. 

Crowley dreaded what would happen when they finally got home.  _ Would Ezra still be upset with him? Of course he would, that was a stupid question...Would he kick Crowley out? Would he yell at him?  _ The answer came a few minutes after they got home. Ezra had put his things down on the kitchen counter and looked expectantly at Crowley. The redhead watched as Ezra opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. Ezra put a hand over his mouth and let out a quiet sob. Crowley stepped forward instinctively, but the blonde waved him away. Crowley stood there dumbly, his hands unsure what to do with themselves, his lips unable to form words.

He could practically feel Ezra’s heart breaking, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Crowley fidgeted to himself for a moment, running a hand through his hair nervously. After a moment, he tried crossing his arms over his chest, drawing them in tightly to keep himself still. He stared down at his shoes for several moments, not wanting Ezra to see the tears that were now pricking at the corners of his eyes.

“Ezra, I—”

_ “Don’t,”  _ Ezra interrupted, holding up a hand.

If it were possible, Crowley drew into himself further. He kept his mouth clamped shut, waiting for Ezra to continue.

“Just…before you say  _ anything _ , Anthony…”

Ezra waited for Crowley to slowly meet his gaze, tears beginning to stream down his face. When the redhead saw that Ezra was crying, he put a hand over his mouth, struggling to hold back sobs of his own as the tears that had been pooling at his eyes finally spilled over.

“I just want to know why,” Ezra choked out. “ _ Why  _ did I have to find out from Gabriel about this?  _ Why _ couldn’t you have told me about your history before?”

Crowley swallowed hard, tears now rolling freely down his cheeks.

“I...I promise I wasn’t trying to hide this from you Ezra. I swear I wasn’t.”

“Anthony...please don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not.”

Crowley felt a sob rising up from his chest.

“Ezra,  _ please _ . I’m not lying to you—I would never lie to you...You have to believe me, you have to—” his voice broke.

The blonde let out a sigh and wiped the tears from his face. He stared down at his shoes for a moment, folding his arms over his chest. He shook his head.

“I really want to believe you dear, I do—”

“ _ But you don’t _ ,” Crowley spat. 

He felt a deep, immense anger blooming in his chest as he held Ezra’s gaze. He balled his fists, still pressing them tight against his chest. Some part of his mind wondered how he looked at the moment, hot tears coursing down his cheeks, his jaw set with fury, his whole body rigid with growing frustration and rage over what Ezra was implying.  _ It was no wonder the blonde stepped back from him… _

“You can go ahead and say it,” Crowley managed. “I already know you’re thinking it.”

A tense moment of silence passed between them and Ezra took a deep breath.

“I don’t,” he admitted. 

There was another long pause, the silence between them stretching on and on. Finally, Ezra spoke again, driving a blade into Crowley’s heart.

_ “Innocent people don’t have anything to hide.” _

Crowley wasn’t sure if he wanted to explode or collapse in on himself. Any anger he felt was snuffed out immediately, only to be replaced by the empty, hollow feeling of despair. Shuddering sobs racked through Crowley’s entire body. He tried to pace in a small circle, but nearly tripped over his own feet. He sniffed quietly to himself, trying not to completely come apart in front of Ezra. He eventually let his hands fall away from his chest, letting them hang limply by his sides. Tears blurred his vision as he turned and walked further into the flat, making his way into the sitting room. 

With the hot tears that clouded his eyes, Crowley did not so much sit himself down on the sofa as he did walk into it. He tried to regain his balance, trailing his hands along one of the sofa’s arms, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. In the end, he just managed to walk around to the front of the sofa, only to trip over the coffee table in front of it. Crowley barely caught himself, landing on his knees and elbows. He cursed loudly, wincing as he kneeled on the floor in front of the sofa. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but someone else had followed him into the sitting room.

A pair of feet stopped beside Crowley and soon a pair of hands were grabbing him by his sides, attempting to get him into a seated position. When Crowley realized that it was Ezra trying to help him, he curled in on himself and began sobbing once more. The blonde quietly eased himself onto the floor a couple feet from where Crowley sat. He reached over to place a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. A pang of guilt stabbed at Ezra’s chest as he watched Crowley cry, the redhead’s knees drawn up as if he were trying to curl into some sort of upright fetal position. 

“I was gonna tell you,” Crowley managed, his voice slightly muffled. “I wasn’t trying to hide anything, I just…”

The redhead hugged himself a little tighter. His arms were wrapped around the front of his shins, his forehead resting against his knees. Ezra carefully extended a hand and placed it on Crowley’s shoulder. The redhead flinched when Ezra first touched him, looking up at the blonde with a startled expression. His eyes were red from crying and his lips trembled. Ezra remained silent, but kept his hand on Crowley’s shoulder.

“I was so happy,” Crowley sobbed. “You were so happy. I loved seeing you happy and I was so scared that if I told you, you wouldn’t be happy with me anymore. I thought you’d regret it...That you’d regret  _ me _ .”

Ezra wiped away a couple more tears that threatened to form at the corners of his eyes and cleared his throat.

“Anthony...I don’t regret loving you, if that’s what you mean.”

“You...You don’t?”

“Of course not,” Ezra replied. “How could I?”

The blonde scooted a little closer towards Crowley. 

“Look, I know this isn’t how we wanted today to go, but we’re here now, so we need to talk about it.”

Crowley nodded his understanding.

“I don’t regret any of the time I’ve spent with you,” Ezra assured him. “The only thing I regret is making you feel too scared to be open and honest with me.”

Crowley looked up at him, hesitantly.

“You mean...You don’t mind my past?”

The blonde sighed.

“Well, I would have liked to know that you even had a  _ past _ ...But no, I don’t care what mistakes you’ve made, Anthony.”

“You don’t?”

“No...We’ve all made mistakes, we all have regrets. I just wished you would have been more open with me about yours.”

Crowley timidly unwound his arms from around the front of his shins, then gingerly reached towards Ezra. The blonde moved so that they were sitting side by side, and took one of Crowley’s hands in his, their fingers lacing together. It was a simple gesture, but very reassuring.

“I will be. I promise, whatever you want to know, you can ask,” Crowley said.

Ezra took a deep breath. 

“Anything?” he asked.

“ _ Anything _ .”

The blonde contemplated this for a moment.

“Because we live under the same roof, I already know that you don’t have a drinking problem, regardless of what my brother says. But...did you? Did you have one when you were younger?”

The redhead let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his face. He had known this question was coming ever since Gabriel made a remark at lunch.

“I think...if anything...I had a bit of a rebellion problem.”

Ezra scooted towards Crowley a little bit more, gently squeezing the other man’s hand. He nodded for Crowley to continue. 

“All that stuff was from when I was younger,” he let out a heavy sigh. “I’d just gotten out of secondary school and I was—well, you know…”

Crowley gestured weakly with his free hand.

“I’d been  _ experimenting _ at that point.” His throat was threatening to close up, but he continued. “My dad didn’t like it, and I didn’t like him...So I got back at him the only way I knew how.”

A fresh set of tears pricked at the corners of Crowley’s eyes. Ezra stroked the back of Crowley’s hand with his thumb, leaning in towards him.

“I’d take the Bentley and go drinking with friends, just looking to get myself in trouble...He didn’t like having a son that embarrassed him, so I did everything I could to make it worse, a big ‘fuck you’ to my old man.”

Ezra let go of Crowley’s hand in favor of wrapping an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder. He pulled the redhead against him and let Crowley cry a little more. Ezra let out a few sympathetic tears of his own.

“ _ Oh Anthony _ , I’m  _ so _ sorry. I’m sorry I said I didn’t believe you—I didn’t mean it, I was just upset...And I’m sorry that Gabriel brought it up. I’m sorry for everything and I—I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you either, angel,” Crowley replied. “And I’m so sorry I’ve...I’ve  _ disappointed _ you.”

“My dear,” Ezra said, taking Crowley’s face in his hands, “the only thing that disappoints me is that you’ve kept this to yourself for so long...I could have listened, I could have helped. You know that I will always understand, don’t you?”

Crowley nodded. After several moments, he dared to look Ezra in the eyes. The blonde gazed at him sympathetically, stroking Crowley’s cheek with his thumb.

“So you...you’re not  _ mad _ ?” he asked.

Ezra sighed.

“Anthony, I...I’m a little put out by this whole thing, I’ll admit that. But now that I know the truth? I’m not mad at all.”

Crowley felt his eyes go wide and jaw slacken in shock.

“You’re not?”

“No,” Ezra assured him. “I do need some time to... _ process _ everything, but I’m not angry with you. If anything, I’m angry at Gabriel.”

“Anything you need,” Crowley said. “If you need me to go, I understand. I deserve it—”

Ezra quieted him, running a hand through Crowley’s hair. 

“I might need a little time alone, but I’ll go to the bedroom. You can stay out here and do whatever it is you need to do, alright?”

Crowley nodded his agreement.

“I love you Anthony,” Ezra added softly. “That’s never going to change.”

“I love you too.”

With that, Ezra leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Crowley’s lips. It was quick and chaste, but it calmed Crowley’s heart and put his mind at ease. He leaned back against the sofa as Ezra made his way to their bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him. They gave each other plenty of space for the rest of the day. Crowley turned on the television, flipping through some junk reality shows to pass the time while Ezra read some old books and laid on the bed, occasionally staring up at the ceiling. 

He wasn’t sure when it happened, but as afternoon became evening and evening soon became night, Crowley found himself stretching out on the sofa, his eyelids growing increasingly heavy. At some point, felt his head loll back against one of the sofa’s armrests and everything grew dark. When Crowley opened his eyes, everything around him was dark as well. The television had been turned off along with any other lights in the sitting room. Crowley shifted around to find that something had been draped over him. 

The redhead reached an arm awkwardly behind him until he found what he was looking for. He turned the lamp beside the sofa on, blinking his eyes. The first thing Crowley noticed was that a warm, tartan blanket had been laid over him, his feet just poking out from the other end of it. It was one of the ones Ezra had brought over when he moved in, a lovely, royal blue pattern that brought out Ezra’s eyes. Crowley smiled to himself as he quickly put together what had happened—Ezra had checked up on him while he was asleep.

The second thing Crowley noticed was that the light in their bedroom was still on, he could see it along the crack at the bottom of their bedroom door.  _ Was Ezra still awake?  _ The redhead stretched, slowly getting to his feet. He quietly picked up the blanket Ezra had draped over him and made his way towards the bedroom. He gingerly turned the handle and popped his head inside, glancing around the room. Ezra was tucked under the covers on his side of the bed, the lamp on his nightstand switched on. Based on the book resting on his chest and the glasses perched precariously on the tip of his nose, Ezra had gone to sleep while reading. He appeared to have originally propped himself up against the headboard, but had started to slide down onto the bed.

Wordlessly, Crowley changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth, then quietly padded back over to Ezra’s side of the bed. He carefully lifted the book from the blonde’s chest and placed it on the nightstand. He then removed Ezra’s reading glasses, placing them gently on top of the book. Crowley then switched off Ezra’s lamp and walked back over towards his side of the bed. He slid under the covers and turned onto his side, facing Ezra. The other man stirred, aware that he was no longer alone in the room. He felt for his glasses and book, realized that Crowley had placed them somewhere out of the way, and rolled over so that he was facing Crowley. He adjusted his pillows so that he was more comfortable and cleared his throat.

“Thank you for putting away my book,” he said quietly.

“And glasses,” Crowley murmured.

“Yes, and glasses,” Ezra agreed.

The blonde reached a hand out in the dark, until his fingers brushed against Crowley’s arm. He inched closer until they were only a few inches apart, his head partially resting on Crowley’s pillow. Crowley smiled to himself and put an arm around Ezra, happy to have him so close once more. He leaned forward until he could feel Ezra’s breath on his face. Then, he closed his eyes and kissed Ezra, slow and full of love. Ezra let out a soft  _ mmmm _ against the redhead’s lips, pressing himself into Crowley.

“I love you,” Ezra whispered when they broke away.

“I love you too,” Crowley whispered back.

“I missed you today, dear.”

“And I missed  _ you _ ,” Crowley replied, blinking his eyes to keep away the fresh, admittedly happy tears that nagged at the corners of his eyes.

They stayed like that for a moment, reacquainting themselves with the sensation of lying so close together, then:

“Roll over for me, would you dear?” Ezra murmured, sleepily.

“Why?” Crowley inquired, already beginning to do as Ezra asked.

“Because...I’d really like to hold you.”

Crowley smiled at that, turning over so that he and Ezra were both facing the same direction. He felt the blonde scoot a little closer towards him, adjust his pillows slightly, then wrap an arm around his middle. Crowley melted into Ezra’s familiar touch, sighing contentedly as the blonde buried his face against the back of his neck. Crowley placed a hand on top of Ezra’s, gently lacing their fingers together.

“ _ Goodnight, angel _ ,” he said.

“ _ Goodnight, darling _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!
> 
> Well, our story is almost at an end. I will posting my FINAL update for this work by 10-17, and I can hardly believe it. Please, please, please stick around to see how the story ends! It's only a few more days, I know you can make it...


	26. So Loved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The semester has come to an end and the holiday season is upon Ezra and Crowley once more. Let's see how they celebrate...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, we go! Last update for this fic!
> 
> I know it's coming a little later than normal, and I do apologize for that, but I wanted to get the ending right.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Anthony,” Ezra called over his shoulder. “I don’t suppose you could help me with this, love?”

Crowley rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and yawned, walking towards the small study down the hall. He was greeted by the sight of Ezra, who was standing on his tiptoes, arms stretched up as far as they could go over his head. The blonde was decorating for the holidays. His latest endeavor was to hang sprigs of mistletoe over all the doorways in their flat. Not  _ real  _ mistletoe of course, just some of the plastic variety they had in every home decor shop this time of year. 

The redhead smiled to himself as he watched Ezra attempt to hang the mistletoe. The blonde was a bit shorter than Crowley, and he just couldn’t quite reach high enough onto the wall to properly tack down the Christmas decorations he was so set on putting up. When Crowley first moved into his flat, he liked the high ceilings and taller doorways, it made the place feel even more spacious. Now that Crowley was being asked to help Ezra hang up decorations left and right, the redhead found himself liking his choice in flat even more.

Soundlessly, Crowley walked up behind Ezra, letting one of his hands fall to the blonde’s hip. He pressed himself into Ezra’s back, resting his chin against the side of Ezra’s head as he reached for the plastic mistletoe. The blonde tensed up for a moment, then quickly relaxed as he realised it was Crowley who was sneaking up on him. He looked up and watched as Crowley almost effortlessly held the mistletoe up over the top of the doorway. 

“Where do you want it?” he murmured into Ezra’s ear.

“Oh, just a bit to the left I think...Right over the center.”

“Now how do I—”

“There’s already double-sided tape on it,” Ezra interjected.

“Ah...There we go,” Crowley said, removing his hand from the sprig of fake mistletoe.

He quickly wound his other arm around Ezra’s middle, burying his face in his boyfriend’s blonde curls.

“Fancy that,” Ezra muttered quietly. “Looks like we’re standing under mistletoe now.”

Crowley grinned against Ezra’s hair.

“You did that on purpose, angel,” Crowley accused. “Bet you didn’t even need my help, you just wanted me over here.”

“ _ Well _ ...Alright. I suppose you’re right.”

The redhead let go of Ezra’s hip just long enough to turn him around so that they were facing each other. He leaned in a little bit, his eyes half-closed as he glanced down at Ezra. The blonde was just staring up at him, a fond expression on his face.

“Well?” Crowley urged. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”

He watched as something flashed across Ezra’s eyes. The blonde opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and frowned to himself. He shook his head slightly, as if he were trying to clear out his thoughts. Ezra smiled at Crowley and gently took his face in both of his hands.

“Of course, my love,” he replied.

Ezra got up on his tiptoes and pressed an enthusiastic kiss to Crowley’s lips. When they pulled away, Crowley studied the other man’s face carefully.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Ezra assured him. “I was just thinking of the things I have planned for today, it is Christmas Eve, after all.”

“And what sort of  _ things _ did you have planned?”

“Just a nice little holiday celebration for the two of us.”

As it turned out, Ezra’s idea of Christmas Eve celebrations included a near perfect recreation of their evening together a year ago, with one exception: Ezra seemed nervous. He kept dropping his end of the conversation at dinner, and he fidgeted more than usual whether he was standing or sitting. He had paced around the flat instead of remaining still and was distracted as he tried to read. Though Crowley couldn’t bring himself to say anything, he noticed Ezra was feeling exceptionally restless as they lounged on the couch.

Ezra always played with Crowley’s hair whenever Crowley laid with his head in the blonde’s lap. Normally, he would limit himself to gentle head rubs or the occasional carding of his fingers through Crowley’s hair. If they were talking and the redhead said something that Ezra found particularly endearing, he would give Crowley’s hair a bit of a ruffle. Today, however, Ezra’s hands didn’t seem to stop. He twirled stray locks of Crowley’s hair with his index finger and ran his hand through Crowley’s hair over and over, as if it was the only thing that could distract him.

That evening as they sat together on the couch, watching one of Crowley’s favorite older films, Ezra kept playing with his pinky ring while they watched the movie. When it ended, Crowley turned off the television and glanced carefully at Ezra. Crowley put his arm around the blonde’s shoulders, kissing the top of his head and pulling him in a little closer. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the blonde bit his lip. 

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“No, no. I’m fine.”

“You seem a bit preoccupied, angel,” the redhead remarked.

The blonde was about to answer when Crowley leaned in and claimed his lips in a kiss. Ezra’s hands flew to Crowley’s shoulders in surprise as the redhead pulled him in even closer. Crowley slid a hand under Ezra’s chin, tilting his head back to deepen their kiss. Crowley smiled as he felt Ezra kiss him back, then set about coaxing the blonde’s jaw open a little wider. He decided to try slipping his tongue into the blonde’s mouth when Ezra gave a startled yelp. He pressed his hands to Crowley’s chest, silently asking him to stop. The redhead pulled away, staring at Ezra closely.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s nothing, dear.”

“I just wanted to help...I thought maybe you weren’t enjoying the movie and I wanted to—”

“Don’t worry about it. Please.”

Ezra stared down at his lap, chewing on his lip.

“What’s wrong?” Crowley asked.

“N-Nothing’s  _ wrong _ ,” Ezra stammered.

Slowly, the blonde met Crowley’s eyes.  _ He looked terrified. _ Crowley instinctively placed his hands on Ezra’s shoulders. The shorter man was trembling slightly.

“Oh angel, something  _ is  _ wrong! What is it?”

“I…”

Ezra sighed.

“Oh Ezra, you can tell me anything. Is someone bothering you? Your brother again?”

“No, Gabriel and I haven’t talked since the semester ended.”

“Then was is it?” the redhead pressed.

There was a beat of silence. Ezra reached out and took both of Crowley’s hands in his, smiling softly.

“There’s something I want to say to you Anthony. Something I’ve wanted to say for a little while now...and I couldn’t think of a more perfect night than this one to say it.”

“Oh?”

“After all, it is our anniversary of sorts.”

Crowley narrowed his eyes at Ezra.

“Anniversary? Angel, our  _ dating _ anniversary was during the semester, we celebrated it back in—”

“Yes, I know about that one, I’m talking about a different anniversary.”

Crowley stared at him.

“Anthony...surely you remember what happened the last time I was here for Christmas Eve?”

“We said ‘I love you,’” he replied slowly. “Of course I remember. How could I forget something like that?”

Ezra smiled up at him.

“I know, dear. I didn’t think you had.”

Crowley squeezed the blonde’s hands lightly and leaned in a little closer.

“ _ And _ ?” he urged.

“And...it seemed right to commemorate the occasion. I mean, think of it. For a year now, it’s been out in the open. I’ve been able to say it, that I love you.”

“I love you too, angel.”

“But more importantly, I made you a promise.”

Ezra cleared his throat. His eyes suddenly looked a little dewy, and Crowley was afraid he was going to start crying.

“When you asked me to move in with you earlier this year,” he continued, his voice a little shaky, “I promised you that one day you’d see just  _ how much _ I love you.”

“ _ Angel _ …”

“I love you so much, I almost don’t know how to put it into words. So much that sometimes it hurts. I love you so,  _ so  _ much and no amount of bad days or botched dates or objections from my older brother will ever change that.”

Ezra was beginning to cry now, a single tear sliding down his cheek. He gently released Crowley’s hands and wiped it away with the sleeve of his sweater.

“I love you more than anything else in the world Anthony. I love you so much, I can’t imagine loving anyone else.”

Then, Ezra did something that Crowley hadn’t seen coming, not in the slightest. The blonde suddenly got up from his spot on the sofa, and pulled something from his back pocket. He knelt in front of Crowley—on one knee—and looked up at him. Crowley’s heart nearly stopped beating in his chest.

“And that’s why,” he said, opening the small black box he’d had with him to reveal a simple gold band, “if you’ll have me...Anthony Crowley, I will love no one else for the rest of my life.”

“Ezra…”

“I mean it Anthony. I mean every word. I can’t imagine being without you, and—”

“Yes.”

“What?” Ezra blinked.

“ _ Yes _ ! I said yes! I’m saying yes!” Crowley exclaimed, grabbing Ezra’s face in both of his hands.

“Oh!...But, I hadn’t asked you yet.”

“Well then hurry up and ask me, silly!”

The blonde cleared his throat.

“Very well, dear...Anthony James Crowley, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

“Yes!” Crowley cried, barely waiting for Ezra to finish asking him. 

Ezra gently took the simple gold band out of the box and slid it onto Crowley’s ring finger.  _ It was a perfect fit.  _ The blonde tried to get to his feet, but before he could stand up, Crowley grabbed him by his sides and pulled him back onto the sofa. Ezra half-sat, half-stumbled onto the sofa beside Crowley, the redhead pulling him so close that he was practically in Crowley’s lap. Without a moment’s hesitation, Crowley yanked him in for an excited kiss, their lips crashing together. Ezra managed to loop his arms around Crowley’s neck, his fingers tangling in the redhead’s hair. They kissed each other as if their lives depended on it. Ezra let out a happy moan against Crowley’s lips as the taller man brought their torsos flush with each other. When they finally broke apart, they both were left gasping for air. 

Wordlessly, Crowley nudged at Ezra, gently encouraging the blonde to move to the side and let Crowley get up. After getting to his feet, the redhead grabbed both of Ezra’s hands, hauling him up from the sofa. Crowley grinned at Ezra madly as he began to walk backwards, leading the blonde towards their bedroom.

“Come on,” he said in a low voice.

“What are we doing?” Ezra asked, although he already knew the answer.

“We’re gonna take off everything but this ring...It’s my turn now, angel. I’m going to show you how much  _ I _ love  _ you _ .”

They disappeared into the bedroom, and Crowley made good on his word.  _ Oh yes, he did _ …


	27. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a brief glimpse into their new life together...

Being married to Ezra was  _ amazing. _ It was the best decision Crowley could remember making—not that he’d needed to think about it for very long. There were lots of things he enjoyed: getting to kiss and touch him any time Crowley wanted, getting to call him ‘husband,’ waking up to him every morning and knowing that Ezra was there to stay for every morning of the rest of their lives. The best part however, was that they didn’t have to keep their relationship a secret anymore.

Crowley avidly talked about his new spouse every opportunity he got. He loved getting to say things to his students that started with phrases like, ‘One time, my husband and I,’ or ‘Last week my husband told me.’ While Crowley never explicitly said he was married to the natural science professor down the hall, he felt that it was strongly implied. And anyone who cared enough to observe him could see the way he interacted with Ezra and should be able to put two and two together.

However, as Professor Crowley would learn,  _ should be able to  _ and  _ actually will  _ are two very different things. One afternoon, Crowley had just finished up one of his lectures and was getting ready to head over to Ezra’s office for lunch. He had just come out of his classroom and was about to turn the corner, when suddenly he heard something that caught his attention.

“Wait, you think Professor Crowley is  _ what _ ?” one of the students said in a hushed tone.

“I said, I think he’s cheating on his husband,” replied another.

Crowley stopped dead in his tracks.  _ What the hell _ ?

“No. No way. He’s always talking about him,” a third one chimed in.

Crowley crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his approval. Whoever this third student was, they certainly had some sense about them, unlike the other two.

“But  _ I  _ saw him!”

“What?” the other two demanded.

_ Yeah,  _ Crowley thought.  _ What? _

“He was in Professor Fell’s office the other day.”

“So? Lots of professors visit each other. I mean, they all work in the same building. What’s so strange about that?”

Crowley grinned to himself.

“But do they kiss each other?” the first student demanded, sounding rather proud of herself.

“Wait...you don’t mean—”

“I do! I saw him kiss Professor Fell, full on the mouth.”

“No way.”

“Uh-huh. Maybe even a little tongue action too.”

“That’s gross,” decided the third student.

“He even called Professor Fell, ‘angel’ afterwards. They’re definitely having an affair.”

“I’d say,” agreed the second student.

Crowley bit back a laugh. He  _ had _ to go tell Ezra about this. He collected himself and turned the corner, being sure to make eye contact with the three students who had been gossiping about him only seconds before.

“P-Professor Crowley!” stammered one of them.

“Afternoon,” he replied in a cold tone as he casually strutted by them. 

He made it all the way to Ezra’s office without cracking a smile.  _ He could do this _ . He quietly walked into his husband’s office and closed the door behind himself. Ezra looked up at him with a smile, then noticed his expression.

“Anthony? What’s the matter dear?”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news for you, angel,” Crowley said, sitting down across from him.

“What...what is it?”

Crowley took a deep, dramatic breath.

“Apparently I’ve been cheating on you.”

Ezra blinked at him.

“Apparently...wha— _ what _ ?” he nearly squeaked.

Crowley did his best not to grin.

“According to the students, I’m cheating on my beloved husband with the amazing natural sciences professor, Mister Ezra Fell.”

Slowly, realization spread across Ezra’s face.

“But... _ we are _ married.”

“I know that, silly...Guess the students don’t.”

They both locked eyes for a moment and began to laugh at that. 

“And what led you to that conclusion?” Ezra asked.

“Well, one of my students apparently spotted us kissing in here the other day and didn’t realize that whenever I talked about my husband, I was talking about  _ you. _ ”

Ezra raised his eyebrows in shock.

“And she told you this?”

“No, not exactly,” Crowley replied. “She decided to tell two of my other students.”

“Oh dear,” Ezra muttered. “I’d hate to have another set of rumours going around campus.”

Crowley nodded his agreement. He caught his husband’s eye and started to chuckle to himself. Despite his best efforts, Ezra began to laugh too, a grin breaking out on both of their faces.

“I thought it would have been obvious!” Ezra exclaimed. “I mean, we’re very open about being a couple. It seemed the perfect idea!”

“ _ Almost _ perfect, anyway.”

“So what do we do about this?”

Crowley scratched his chin for a moment, thinking. Finally, he looked at his husband, a devilish grin on his face.

“I’ve got it…”

  
  


**********

The next morning in Professor Crowley’s class was the same as usual, minus one detail. The rumor that he was cheating on his husband had spread throughout the student body like wildfire, and he was met with several disapproving glances when he walked into the room. He ignored them, only just managing to hide his enthusiasm at what was going to happen in just a few moments.

He began class with his usual spiel about upcoming homework assignments and tests, then plunged into his planned lecture. About five minutes in, he was interrupted by a small knock at the door. He walked from his place at the front of the classroom and let whoever was at the door inside. Professor Fell stepped inside and beamed at him. A couple of the students groaned or rolled their eyes, but every single one of them paid attention to see what would happen next.

“Oh, I do hope I’m not interrupting, my dear,” Professor Fell said politely.

“Not at all,” Crowley replied.

“You forgot the lunch I made for you,” Ezra announced, just loud enough for all the students to hear. “You left it on our kitchen counter, love.”

A couple of the students’ jaws dropped.

“Oh! Thank you, angel,” Crowley smiled.

He took the lunch bag from his husband and quickly leaned in, planting a small kiss on Ezra’s lips. The blonde smiled at him and turned to leave.

“See you later, then! I’ll be home early tonight so I can help you with dinner!” Crowley called as Ezra disappeared back into the hallway.

Professor Crowley turned to face his students, a huge smile on his face. He leaned towards them, as if they were all sharing some sort of conspiratorial joke.

“I don’t know how I managed to get so lucky. Sometimes, I can’t believe he actually married me,” Crowley laughed.

The students blinked at him, collectively. Crowley grinned wickedly.

“Did I ever tell you that  _ he  _ was the one that asked  _ me _ ?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so, so, SO much for reading! I almost can't believe it's over...
> 
> This was a lot of fun to write and I really hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you to everyone who stuck around since the beginning, I loved hearing that there were people who liked this story as much as I did. I hope you all liked the ending and enjoyed the story as a whole!
> 
> This was my first ever long work, so frankly I'm just pleased that I finished it. Now I have the time to devote to some of my other projects that have been sitting on the back burner for a while...


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